The Delaware Geological Survey released a new technical report titled “Kent County groundwater monitoring project: results of subsurface exploration,” which was prepared by and A. Scott Andres, Rachel McQuiggan, and Changming He of the Survey. DGS Open File Report No. 53 documents test drilling, well installation, hydraulic testing, and mapping of impermeable layers (confining beds) in Kent County. The work was funded by a State of Delaware capital appropriation for infrastructure construction and supports data collection for assessment of current and potential future groundwater availability.

The report contains detailed observations and analyses made as a result of drilling and installing 42 new monitoring wells at 10 locations, downhole geophysical surveys at over 25 sites, hydraulic testing of nearly 50 new wells, assessment of several hundred historic hydraulic tests, and mapping of confining beds. The new monitoring wells have been incorporated into the Delaware Groundwater Monitoring Network and the National Ground Water Monitoring Network and will be used for assessment of groundwater conditions for decades. The information in this report is being used for water-supply planning and for management of water-dependent environmental resources.

The report fulfills part of the DGS’s mission to research hydrologic systems and to advise, inform, and educate Delawareans about the results of such investigations so they can serve as a resource for scientists, engineers, planners, emergency managers, and the public.

Open File Report No. 53 is available in pdf format from the DGS web site at http://www.dgs.udel.edu/publications. For additional information, contact the Survey at (302) 831-2833 or via email at delgeosurvey@udel.edu.