Ground-water levels are basic information needed for evaluating water conditions and for basic and applied research. For these efforts, water levels are being measured statewide in wells completed in multiple aquifers. Some wells are measured for specific projects, such as the Coastal Aquifers Salinity Project and the Water Conditions program, while other wells are measured so that staff can maintain long term records of ground-water levels for evaluation of trends. Table contains summary data from wells having 100 or more water level observations.

To understand the effects of projected increased demands on groundwater for water supply, a finite-difference, steady-state, groundwater flow model was used to simulate groundwater flow in the Coastal Plain sediments of southern New Castle County, Delaware. The model simulated flow in the Columbia (water table), Rancocas, Mt. Laurel, combined Magothy/Potomac A, Potomac B, and Potomac C aquifers, and intervening confining beds. Although the model domain extended north of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, south into northern Kent County, east into New Jersey, and west into Maryland, the model focused on the area between the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, the Delaware River, and the Maryland-Delaware border. Boundary conditions for these areas were derived from modeling studies completed by others over the past 10 years.

Compilation and review of data used for model input revealed gaps in hydraulic properties, pumping, aquifer and confining bed geometry, and water-level data. The model is a useful tool for understanding hydrologic processes within the study area such as horizontal and vertical flow directions and response of aquifers to pumping, but significant data gaps preclude its use for detailed analysis for water resources management including estimating flow rates between Delaware and adjacent states. The calibrated model successfully simulated groundwater flow directions in the Rancocas and Mt. Laurel aquifers as expected from the conceptual model. Flow patterns in the Rancocas and Mt. Laurel aquifers are towards local streams, similar to flow directions in the Columbia (water table) aquifer in locations where these aquifers are in close hydraulic connection.

Water-budget calculations and simulated heads indicate that deep confined aquifers (Magothy and Potomac aquifers) receive groundwater recharge from shallow aquifers (Columbia, Rancocas, and Mt. Laurel aquifers) in most of the study domain. Within shallow aquifers, groundwater moves toward major streams, while in the deep aquifers, groundwater moves
toward major pumping centers.

Ground water comprises nearly all of the water supply in Kent County, Delaware. The confined aquifers of the area are an important part of this resource base. The aim of this study is to provide an up-to-date geologic framework for the confined aquifers of Kent County, with a focus on their stratigraphy and correlation. Seven confined aquifers are used for water supply in Kent County. All occur at progressively greater depths south-southeastward, paralleling the overall dip of the sedimentary section that underlies the state. The two geologically oldest, the Mount Laurel and Rancocas aquifers, are normally reached by drilling only in the northern part of the county. The Mount Laurel aquifer is an Upper Cretaceous marine shelf deposit composed of clean quartz sands that are commonly glauconitic. It occurs at around 300 ft below sea level in the Smyrna Clayton area and is typically just less than 100 ft thick. Southward, toward Dover, it passes into fine-grained facies that do not yield significant ground water. The Rancocas aquifer is a Paleocene to Eocene marine unit of shelf deposits consisting of glauconite-rich sands with shells and hard layers. It occurs as high as 100 ft below sea level in northwestern Kent County and deepens southeastward, rapidly changing facies to finer-grained, nonaquifer lithologies in the same direction.

This map shows the saturated thickness of the water-table aquifer. This aquifer consists of the deposits of the Columbia Formation and those portions of the Magothy and Englishtown-Mt. Laurel formations, and Rancocas Group that are hydraulically connected with the Columbia deposits (see Groot, Demicco, and Cherry, 1983). For example, large, saturated thicknesses in the zone trending northeast-southwest near Townsend reflect the addition of the sands of the Rancocas Group to the total thickness of the sands of the overlying Columbia Formation.

The ground-water recharge potential map of Kent County, Delaware, is a compilation of 1:24,000-scale maps of the water-transmitting properties of sediments in the interval between land surface and 20 ft below land surface. Water-transmitting properties are a key factor in determining the amount of water that recharges Delaware’s aquifers and the susceptibility of aquifers used as sources of water supply to contamination from near-surface pollutant sources. The mapping methodology was developed by Andres (1991) for the geologic characteristics of the Atlantic Coastal Plain portion of Delaware. Mapping and methods development started in 1990 and the final maps were completed in 2002 (Andres et al., 2002). Additional information about the map and methodology and a list of cited references are presented on the reverse side. The mapping program was funded by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Delaware Geological Survey.

Geology and hydrology of the Smyrna-Clayton area, Delaware. There are 2 sheets in this series.