Interactions between groundwater and surface water in a virginia coastal plain watershed. 1. Hydrological flowpaths

Abstract

AbstractA field study of surface water and groundwater interactions during baseflow and stormflow conditions was performed at the Reedy Creek watershed in the Virginia Coastal Plain. Three estimates of the average saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) of the unconfined aquifer were in reasonable agreement (ranging from 0.0033 to 0.010 cm/s), indicating that baseflow in the creek is entirely from the drainage of shallow groundwater from the relatively thin (1–6 m thick) unconfined aquifer. This relatively permeable surficial aquifer was found to be underlain by dark, olive grey, clay‐silt and diatomaceous Miocene deposits of low permeability known as the Calvert Formation, which is believed to function as a confining bed in the area.A chemical hydrograph separation technique was used to resolve the contributions of [old] (pre‐event) and [new] (event) water to stormflow. Results from a major rainstorm indicated that old water dominated the stormflow response of the watershed, although the new water contribution approached 40% at the hydrograph peak. Stormflow at Reedy Creek appears to result from saturation overland flow from variable source areas which include the stream channels and a significant part of the riparian wetland area. This response appears to be attributable to the transient dynamics of the shallow groundwater flow system and to the formation of localized groundwater mounds which raise the water‐table to the wetland surface.