State College Borough Water Authority State College, Pennsylvania Source Water Protection Report January 2007 State College Borough Water Authority 56002680 sjw-067 1-07 -i- STATE COLLEGE BOROUGH WATER AUTHORITY STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA SOURCE WATER PROTECTION REPORT JANUARY 2007 PREPARED BY: DAVID A. YOXTHEIMER, P.G. APPROVED BY: ROBERT W. ANDERSON, C.P.G. 56002680 120 Radnor Road State College, Pennsylvania 16801 tel 814 231 2170· fax 814 231 2174 State College Borough Water Authority 56002680 sjw-067 1-07 -ii- Source Water Protection Report Table of Contents Page No. Section 1 Introduction .......................................................................................1 1.1 Purpose and Objectives ..................................................................................1 1.2 Background Information .................................................................................1 1.2.1 Hydrogeologic Setting..........................................................................2 1.2.2 Water System Description....................................................................3 1.2.3 Land Use and Zoning...........................................................................3 1.2.4 Previous Related Studies.....................................................................4 Section 2 Upper Slab Cabin Run Watershed Protection Study......................6 2.1 Literature and Data Review............................................................................6 2.2 Water Level Surveys ......................................................................................7 2.3 Stream Gauging .............................................................................................7 2.4 Aquifer Testing ...............................................................................................7 2.5 Geophysical Surveying...................................................................................9 2.6 Fracture Trace Analysis .................................................................................9 2.7 Dye Tracing..................................................................................................10 2.7.1 Methods.............................................................................................10 2.7.2 Dye Trace Study Results...................................................................12 2.8 Conceptual Model of Upper Slab Cabin Run...............................................14 2.8.1 Watershed Characteristics ................................................................15 2.8.2 Groundwater Flow.............................................................................22 3.1.6 Groundwater Recharge Mechanisms................................................23 3.1.7 Factors Affecting Well Yields ............................................................23 2.8.5 Characteristics of Existing Public Water Supply Wellfields................24 2.8.6 Stream Hydrology..............................................................................25 2.8.7 Upper Slab Cabin Run Water Budget................................................26 2.8.8 Conceptual Model of Upper Slab Cabin Run.....................................27 2.9 Watershed and Groundwater Flow Model ..................................................29 2.10 Source Water Assessment .........................................................................32 2.11 Contaminant Source Inventory ...................................................................34 2.12 Contingency Planning.................................................................................35 State College Borough Water Authority 56002680 sjw-067 1-07 -iii- Source Water Protection Report Table of Contents Page No. 2.13 New Source Planning............................................................................36 2.14 Public Education ...................................................................................37 2.15 Watershed Protection Area Management and Commitment .................38 2.16 Beneficial Reuse Project Discussion.....................................................41 2.15 Slab Cabin Run Watershed Protection Program Discussion.................42 Section 3 Wellhead Protection Study.............................................................43 3.1 Wellhead Protection Study Methods ............................................................43 3.1.1 Data Acquisition ................................................................................43 3.1.2 Aquifer Testing ..................................................................................44 3.1.3 Geophysical Surveying......................................................................44 3.1.4 Fracture Trace Analysis.....................................................................44 3.1.5 Groundwater Flow Model ..................................................................44 3.1.6 Source Water Assessment................................................................45 3.1.6 Contaminant Source Inventory ..........................................................46 3.1.7 Contingency Planning .......................................................................47 3.1.8 New Source Planning........................................................................47 3.1.9 Public Education................................................................................47 3.1.10 Wellhead Protection Area Management and Commitment................47 3.2 Wellfield 2 (Gray’s Woods Wellfield) Wellhead Protection Study Results ....48 3.2.1 Background Information ....................................................................48 3.2.2 Hydrogeologic Setting.......................................................................48 3.2.3 Wellhead Protection Area Delineation...............................................50 3.2.4 Potential Sources of Contamination ..................................................50 3.3 Wellfield 4 (Nixon Wellfield) Wellhead Protection Study Results..................50 3.3.1 Background Information ....................................................................50 3.3.2 Hydrogeologic Setting.......................................................................51 3.3.3 Wellhead Protection Area Delineation ..............................................51 3.3.4 Potential Sources of Contamination ..................................................52 3.4 Wellfield 5 (Circleville) Wellhead Protection Study Results..........................53 3.4.1 Background Information ....................................................................53 3.4.2 Hydrogeologic Setting .......................................................................53 State College Borough Water Authority 56002680 sjw-067 1-07 -iv- Source Water Protection Report Table of Contents Page No. 3.4.3 Wellhead Protection Area Delineation...............................................54 3.4.4 Potential Sources of Contamination ..................................................54 3.5 Wellfield 6 (Alexander) Wellhead Protection Study Results .........................55 3.5.1 Background Information ....................................................................55 3.5.2 Hydrogeologic Setting .......................................................................55 3.5.3 Wellhead Protection Area Delineation...............................................56 3.5.4 Potential Sources of Contamination ..................................................56 3.6 Wellfield 7 (Kocher) Wellhead Protection Study Results..............................57 3.6.1 Background Information ....................................................................57 3.6.2 Hydrogeologic Setting .......................................................................57 3.6.3 Wellhead Protection Area Delineation ..............................................58 3.6.4 Potential Sources of Contamination ..................................................59 State College Borough Water Authority 56002680 sjw-067 1-07 -v- Acknowledgements Max Gill and the great staff and board of directors at State College Borough Water Authority for their proactive commitment toward protection of the region’s water resources. PaDEP for providing the Source Water Protection Grant to help fund this project. Bill Syrett of PSU’s meteorological department for providing data. Spring Creek Watershed Community’s Water Resource Monitoring Project personnel for use of their water level monitoring data for this project. Bob Crum and his staff at Centre Regional Planning Agency for the terrific summaries of land use and zoning of each wellfield. Acknowledgement is also due to Dr. Charles W. Downer, Research Hydraulic Engineer and lead developer of GSSHA, for his valuable advice and assistance with the model development effort. State College Borough Water Authority 56002680 sjw-067 1-07 -vi- List of Tables 1 Wellfield Characteristics Including Water-bearing Zones 2 Summary of Zone I, II, and III Wellhead Protection Areas List of Figures 1 Map of the State College Borough Water Authority’s Drinking Water Sources Showing Delineated Wellhead Protection Areas for Each Wellfield 2 Upper Slab Cabin Run Study Area Showing SCBWA Wells, Observation Wells, and Stream Gauges 3 Geologic Map of the Upper Slab Cabin Run Basin Showing Fracture Traces, Karst Features, Including Sinkhole Mapping 4 Dye Trace Study Injection and Monitoring Point Map 5 Sulphorhodamine B concentrations in Slab Cabin Run Stream Receptors 6 Sulphorhodamine B concentrations