spit deposits

Delaware Geological Survey Issues Report on Groundwater Monitoring and Water-Quality Impacts of Rapid Infiltration Basin Systems

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The Delaware Geological Survey released a new technical report entitled “Groundwater Quality and Monitoring of Rapid Infiltration Basin Systems, Theory and Field Experiments at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware” which was prepared by A. Scott Andres and Changming He of the Delaware Geological Survey, Edward Walther of the South Water Management District, Florida, Müserref Türkmen of the Izmir Water and Sewerage Administration, Turkey, and Anastasia Chirnside and William Ritter of the University of Delaware. DGS Bulletin 21C documents the results of a detailed study of groundwater quality at a rapid infiltration basin system.

B21C Groundwater Quality and Monitoring of Rapid Infiltration Basin Systems (RIBS), Theory and Field Experiments at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware

A rapid infiltration basin system (RIBS) consists of several simple and relatively standard technologies; collection and conveyance of wastewater, treatment, and discharge to an unlined excavated or constructed basin. By design, the effluent quickly infiltrates through the unsaturated or vadose zone to the water table. During infiltration, some contaminants may be treated by biological and/or geochemical processes and diluted by dispersion and diffusion.

B21B Hydrogeology of a Rapid Infiltration Basin System (RIBS) at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware

The hydrogeologic framework of Cape Henlopen State Park (CHSP), Delaware was characterized to document the hydrologic effects of treated wastewater disposal on a rapid infiltration basin system (RIBS). Characterization efforts included installation of test borings and monitoring wells; collection of core samples, geophysical logs, hydraulic test data, groundwater levels and temperatures; testing of grain size distribution; and interpretation of stratigraphic lithofacies, hydraulic test data, groundwater levels, and temperature data.

Coastal Plain Rock Units (Stratigraphic Chart)

The geology of Delaware includes parts of two geologic provinces: the Appalachian Piedmont Province and the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province. The Piedmont occurs in the hilly northernmost part of the state and is composed of crystalline metamorphic and igneous rocks. This chart summarizes the age and distribution of the geologic units that are recognized in the state by the Delaware Geological Survey.

GM12 Geology of the Lewes and Cape Henlopen Quadrangles, Delaware

The surficial geology of the Lewes and Cape Henlopen quadrangles reflects the geologic history of the Delaware Bay estuary and successive high and low stands of sea levels during the Quaternary. The subsurface Beaverdam Formation was deposited as part of a fluvial-estuarine system during the Pliocene, the sediments of which now form the core of the Delmarva Peninsula. Following a period of glacial outwash during the early Pleistocene represented by the Columbia Formation found to the northwest of the map area (Ramsey, 1997), the Delaware River and Estuary developed their current positions.