Water Resource Inventory and Assessment: Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Twiggs and Bibb, Georgia Stone Creek in Bond Swamp NWR U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region Atlanta, GA March 2020 Water Resource Inventory and Assessment: Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Twiggs and Bibb County, Georgia Adam M. Milewski University of Georgia, Department of Geology Water Resources & Remote Sensing Laboratory 210 Field Street, Geography-Geology Building #308 Athens, GA 30602 Melissa J. Creviston University of Georgia, Department of Geology Water Resources & Remote Sensing Laboratory 210 Field Street, Geography-Geology Building #308 Athens, GA 30602 Todd C. Rasmussen University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources Athens, GA 30602 John Faustini U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region 1875 Century Blvd. Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30345 Michelle Moorman U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inventory & Monitoring Branch 551 Pylon Drive #F Raleigh, NC 27606 March 2020 U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Please cite this publication as: Milewski, A., Creviston, M., Rasmussen, T., Faustini, J., and Moorman, M., 2020, Water Resource Inventory and Assessment: Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region. Atlanta, Georgia. 55 pp. + appendices. Cover Photo: Stone Creek in Bond Swamp NWR. Photo Credit: USFWS i | P a g e Acknowledgments This work was completed through contract Cooperative Agreement Award No. F16AC00881 between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Georgia. Multiple state and federal partners and non-governmental agencies compiled the information found in this report. Staff from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and staff from Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge provided significant input and reviews during this process. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ii | P a g e Table of Contents List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. vi 1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Key Water Resources Issues of Concern .................................................................................. 2 1.3 Needs and Recommendations .................................................................................................... 2 2 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Document Organization ............................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Data Processing ........................................................................................................................... 4 3 Facility Information ............................................................................................................................ 5 4 Natural Setting .................................................................................................................................... 7 4.1 Topography and Landforms .................................................................................................... 10 4.2 Geology & Hydrogeology ......................................................................................................... 12 4.3 Soils............................................................................................................................................. 14 4.4 Hydrology .................................................................................................................................. 17 4.5 Land Cover ................................................................................................................................ 18 4.6 Climate ....................................................................................................................................... 20 5 Inventory Summary and Discussion ................................................................................................ 25 5.1 Water Resources ....................................................................................................................... 25 5.1.1 Rivers, Streams, and Creeks ............................................................................................... 25 5.1.2 Canals and Drainage Ditches .............................................................................................. 27 5.1.3 Springs and Seeps ............................................................................................................... 27 5.1.4 Waterbodies ........................................................................................................................ 27 5.1.5 Wetlands ............................................................................................................................. 28 5.2 Infrastructure ............................................................................................................................ 30 5.2.1 Inventory Dams ................................................................................................................... 30 5.2.2 Dikes and Levees ................................................................................................................ 32 5.2.3 Roads and Bridges .............................................................................................................. 32 5.3 Water Monitoring ..................................................................................................................... 33 5.3.1 Surface Water Quantity Monitoring.................................................................................... 35 5.3.2 Surface Water Quality Monitoring ...................................................................................... 37 5.3.3 Groundwater Quantity ......................................................................................................... 39 5.3.4 Groundwater Quality ........................................................................................................... 41 5.3.5 Aquatic Habitat and Biota ................................................................................................... 43 5.4 Water Quantity and Timing..................................................................................................... 44 5.5 Federal and State Water Regulations ..................................................................................... 46 5.5.1 Water Quality Standards ..................................................................................................... 46 5.5.2 Groundwater Regulations .................................................................................................... 46 5.5.3 Impaired Waters and TMDLs ............................................................................................. 46 5.5.4 NPDES Permits ................................................................................................................... 47 5.6 Water Law/Water Rights ......................................................................................................... 50 5.6.1 State Water Law Overview ................................................................................................. 50 5.6.2 Aspects of State Water Law that May Affect the Refuge ................................................... 51 6 Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 52 University of Georgia - WRRS iii | P a g e 6.1 Threats ....................................................................................................................................... 52 6.2 Needs and Recommendations .................................................................................................. 52 7 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................................ 53 Appendix A Expanded Data Records ............................................................................................... 55 Appendix B Dams Records ................................................................................................................ 58 Appendix C Water Quality and Quantity Stations ......................................................................... 63 Surface Water Quantity ....................................................................................................................... 67 Surface Water Quality .......................................................................................................................... 72 Groundwater Quantity Stations .......................................................................................................... 78 Groundwater Quality Stations ............................................................................................................