MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Kenneth N
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MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SC (OH1-7'' CONVERSION FACTORS AND ABBREVIATIONS For the convenience of readers who prefer to use International System (SI) units rather than the inch-pound units used in this report, values may be converted using the following factors: Multiply inch-pound unit By To obtain SI units inch (in.) 25.40 millimeter (mm) foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m) mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km) 2 square mile (mi ) 2.590 square kilometer (km2) acre 0.4047 hectare (ha) gallon (gal) 3.785 liter (L) million gallons (Mgal) 3,785 cubic meter (m3) acre-foot (acre-ft) 0.001233 cubic hectometer (hm3) foot squared per day 0.09290 meter squared per day 2 (ft /d) (m2/d) gallon per minute 0.06309 liter per second (L/s) (gal/min) gallon per day 0.003785 cubic meter per day (gal/d) (m3/d) gallon per minute per 0.2070 liter per second per meter foot [(gal/min)/ft] [(L/s)/m] cubic foot per second 0.02832 cubic meter per second 3 (ft /s) (mVs) cubic foot per second 0.01093 cubic meter per second per square mile per square kilometer 3 2 [(ft /s)/mi ] [(m3/s)/km2] ton 907.2 kilogram (kg) Chemical concentration is expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/L) or micrograms per liter (/ig/L). Water temperature in degrees Celsius (0C) can be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (0F) using the following equation: 0F = 1.8 (0C) + 32 "Sea level" as used in this report refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD of 1929) — a geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-level nets of both the United States and Canada, formerly called "Mean Sea Level of 1929." Department of Natural Resources MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Kenneth N. Weaver, Director BULLETIN 33 WATER RESOURCES OF FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND by Mark T. Duigon Maryland Geological Survey and James R. Dine U.S. Geological Survey Prepared in cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey and the Frederick County Board of Commissioners 1987 COMMISSION OF THE MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY M. GORDON WOLMAN, Chairman Baltimore S. JAMES CAMPBELL Towson RICHARD W. COOPER Salisbury PHILIP J. JENKINS Frostburg ROBERT W. RIDKY College Park iii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Location and size 1 Purpose and scope 3 Geographic setting 3 Geologic setting 7 Previous investigations 10 Acknowledgments 11 DATA-COLLECTION NETWORK 12 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES 17 Sources of water 17 Recharge and discharge 17 Water levels 20 Ground-water flow 23 Aquifer properties 23 Factors influencing the yields of wells 30 Ground water as a source of geothermal energy 39 Ground-water quality 43 SURFACE-WATER RESOURCES 56 Monthly and annual mean flows 56 Flow durations 56 Flood frequencies at long-term stations 65 Low-flow characteristics 65 Surface-water quality 76 HYDROLOGIC BUDGETS AND WATER AVAILABILITY 85 Hydrologic budgets of basins having long-term records 85 Hydrologic budgets of basins having partial records 87 Hydrologic budget for Frederick County 88 Water use and water availability 88 SUMMARY 100 REFERENCES CITED 102 TABLES Page Table I. Precipitation and temperature data for Frederick County 5 2. Stream data-collection stations and basin characteristics 14 3. Selected values of gravity yield in basins in Frederick County 25 4. Selected estimates of aquifer properties 26 5. Aquifer diffusivity values for selected basins 28 T ABLES—Continued Page Table 6. Distribution of 1,881 wells among water-use categories 33 7. Well characteristics of the geologic units 34 8. Summary of ground-water quality 43 9. Old and new analyses of ground-water quality 54 10. Durations of daily flows at continuous-record stations 56 11. Magnitudes and frequencies of annual high flows at continuous- record stations 66 12. Estimates of magnitudes and frequencies of annual peak flows at partial-record stations 67 13. Magnitudes and frequencies of annual low flows at continuous- record stations 69 14. Two-year and 10-year 7-day low flows 70 15. Ranking of streamflow-measurement stations by 7-day, 10-year low flow 73 16. Low flows of headwater areas and downstream areas, Owens Creek and Fishing Creek 73 17. Mean total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in Frederick County streams 80 18. Trace metals in the Monocacy River at Walkersville and at Reich's Ford Bridge near Frederick 83 19. Hydrologic budgets of basins that have long-term, continuous records 87 20. Hydrologic budgets of basins that have partial records 88 21. Public water-supply and sewage facilities in Frederick County 90 22. Mean monthly base flows, Catoctin Creek near Middletown 94 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Plate 1. Geologic map of Frederick County, Maryland Pocket 2. Map showing the altitude of the potentiometric surface, Frederick County, Maryland Pocket Figure 1. Map showing the location of Frederick County 2 2. Map showing physiographic provinces and their divisions in Maryland 4 3. Map showing locations of precipitation-measurement stations 6 4. Map showing soil groups of Frederick County 8 5. Map showing locations of drainage basins and surface-water stations 13 6. Map showing locations of wells and springs referred to in this report 16 7. Diagram showing the hydrologic cycle 18 8. Diagram showing stream and water-table relations 19 V ILLUSTRATIONS—Continued Page Figure 9. Diagram showing artesian conditions in a fractured-rock aquifer 20 10. Diagram showing the effect of well depth on water levels in wells 21 11. Hydrographs showing seasonal fluctuations of ground-water levels 22 12. Hydrographs showing seasonal and year-to-year fluctuations of ground-water levels 23 13. Diagram showing a physical interpretation of transmissivity 27 14. Graph showing water-level recession in well FR EF 49 28 15. Diagram illustrating the definition of specific capacity 29 16. Graph of cumulative frequencies of yields of wells inventoried in Frederick County 30 17. Graph of cumulative frequencies of specific capacities of wells inventoried in Frederick County 31 18. Graphs showing comparison of performance of industrial, institutional, and public-supply wells and domestic wells 32 19. Chart showing the distribution of wells among geologic units 36 20. Box plots of specific capacities of wells in Frederick County grouped by geologic unit 37 21. Graph of cumulative frequencies of specific capacities of wells in Frederick County grouped by topographic setting 38 22. Geophysical logs of well MO BE 66 40 23. Diagrams showing the three main types of coupling systems for ground-water heat pumps 42 24. Box-whisker plots of specific conductances of water from wells open to various geologic units 45 25. Graph showing cumulative frequencies of total dissolved solids in ground-water samples 46 26. Graph showing the relation of total dissolved solids and specific conductance of ground water in Frederick County 46 27. Diagrams showing percentages of major ions in ground-water samples from selected geologic units 47 28. Map showing areal distribution of high and low pH in ground water in Frederick County 53 29. Graphs showing monthly and annual streamflow statistics for stations having continuous records 58 30. Graph showing durations of daily flows of Fishing Creek near Lewistown and Monocacy River at Bridgeport 62 31. Graph showing durations of daily flows past two stations on the Monocacy River 63 32. Graph showing durations of daily flows at Hunting Creek at Jimtown before and after impoundment 64 33. Graph showing magnitudes and frequencies of annual low flows of the Monocacy River at Jug Bridge near Frederick 68 34. Graph showing relation of low flow at Bush Creek at Reels Mill and flow at Bennett Creek at Park Mills 72 vi ILLUSTRATIONS—Continued Page Figure 35. Maps showing areal distribution of low flows 74 36. Diagram showing percentages of major ions in stream samples 77 37. Graph showing the relation of total dissolved solids and specific conductance, Monocacy River at Bridgeport 78 38. Graph showing specific conductance, Monocacy River at Bridgeport 79 39. Graph showing the relation of specific conductance and discharge, Monocacy River at Bridgeport 80 40. Graph showing seasonal variations in nutrient concentrations, Monocacy River at Reich's Ford Bridge near Frederick 81 41. Map showing sites where bottom materials were analyzed for pesticides 82 42. Graph showing variations in suspended-sediment loads, Monocacy River at Reich's Ford Bridge near Frederick 83 43. Graph showing the relation of suspended sediment and discharge, Monocacy River at Reich's Ford Bridge near Frederick 84 44. Graph showing cumulative frequencies of suspended sediment measured in the Monocacy River at Reich's Ford Bridge near Frederick 85 45. Graph showing grain-size distributions of suspended sediment in Hunting Creek at Jimtown, Linganore Creek near Frederick, and the Monocacy River at Reich's Ford Bridge near Frederick 86 46. Index map of water-utility regions 92 47. Graph showing cumulative frequencies of annual runoff components, Catoctin Creek near Middletown 93 48. Graph showing the relation of annual base flow and annual total runoff, Catoctin Creek near Middletown 94 49. Graph showing draft-storage frequency relations, Bennett Creek at Park Mills 95 50. Graphs showing areal draft-storage relations 97 WATER RESOURCES OF FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND by Mark T. Duigon and James R. Dine ABSTRACT The water resources of Frederick County, Maryland, were assessed in order to provide the hydrologic background necessary for planning, developing, and other activities. Twenty-five drainage basins (including two that drain into the county) ranging in size from 3.04 to 968 square miles were delineated. Ground water occurs primarily under unconfined or semiconfined conditions in fractures in metamorphic and sedimentary rocks; its circulation is generally controlled by local topography. Aquifer diffusivity ranges from 6,400 to 74,000 feet squared per day, and trans- missivity rarely exceeds 1,000 feet squared per day.