DTIC ADA441793: Ground-Water Levels and Water-Quality Data From Monitoring Wells in Windham, Maine Water Years 1997-2001

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by  Defense Technical Information Center

Ground-Water Levels and Water-Quality Data
from Monitoring Wells in Windham, Maine
Water Years 1997–2001
Open-File Report 02-145
Prepared in cooperation with the
Town of Windham, Maine
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
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1. REPORT DATE 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED
2002 N/A -
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER
Ground-Water Levels and Water-Quality Data From Monitoring Wells
5b. GRANT NUMBER
in Windham, Maine Water Years 1997-2001
5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER
6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER
5e. TASK NUMBER
5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey 1849 C. Street, REPORT NUMBER
NW Washington, DC 20240
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a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE SAR 24
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Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)
Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Ground-Water Levels and Water-Quality Data
from Monitoring Wells in Windham, Maine
Water Years 1997–2001
By James M. Caldwell
Open-File Report 02-145
Prepared in cooperation with the
Town of Windham, Maine
Augusta, Maine
2002
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GALE A. NORTON, Secretary
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Charles G. Groat, Director
The use of firm, trade, and brand names in this report is for identification purposes
only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government.
For additional information write to: Copies of this report can be purchased
from:
District Chief U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Information Services
26 Ganneston Dr. Box 25286, Federal Center
Augusta, ME 04330 Denver, CO 80225
http://me.water.usgs.gov
CONTENTS
Abstract...................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction................................................................................................................................................................ 1
Description of the Study Area.................................................................................................................................... 1
Physiography, Climate, and Hydrology............................................................................................................ 1
Description of Well Network............................................................................................................................ 2
Records of Ground-Water Levels.............................................................................................................................. 2
Continuous Records.......................................................................................................................................... 2
Periodic Records................................................................................................................................................ 5
Records of Ground-Water Quality............................................................................................................................. 5
References Cited........................................................................................................................................................ 6
FIGURES
1. Map showing location of the Windham aquifer study area, North Windham, Maine.................................... 2
2. Map showing monitoring wells in the Windham aquifer, North Windham, Maine........................................ 4
3. Graph showing daily mean water levels in well CW 1983, October 1, 1995 to September 30, 2001............ 6
TABLES
1. Selected data for wells in the Windham aquifer.......................................................................................... 3
2. Water level data for monitoring well CW 1983, water years 1996–01....................................................... 8
3. Water-quality data from the Windham aquifer, Windham, Maine, 1998–01.............................................. 14
Contents iii
CONVERSION FACTORS AND VERTICAL DATUM
Multiply By To obtain
inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter
foot (ft) 0.3048 meter
mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer
square mile (mi2) 2.59 square kilometer
gallons (gal) 3.785 liter
Temperature in degrees Celsius (oC) may be converted to temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (oF) as follows:
°F = 1.8 *(°C) + 32
Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) as follows:
°C = (°F - 32) / 1.8
Sea level: In this report “sea level” refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD of 1929)—a geodetic datum
derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of both the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea
Level Datum of 1929.
Altitude: In this report refers to distance above or below sea level.
Specific conductance is given in microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius (µS/cm at 25 oC).
Concentrations of chemical constituents in water are given in milligrams per liter (mg/L) or micrograms per liter (µg/L).
iv Ground-Water Levels and Water-Quality Data, Windham, Maine, 1997–2001
Ground-Water Levels and Water-Quality Data
from Monitoring Wells in Windham, Maine,
Water Years 1997–2001
by James M. Caldwell
ABSTRACT degradation of ground-water quality and will help
Windham’s Planning Committee make informed deci-
Ongoing data collection in an established
sions regarding ground-water quality.
well network in Windham, Maine, serves as an
This report presents hourly ground-water level
indicator of the hydrologic and water-quality
data from a representative well in the study area. It
conditions in the aquifer. This report presents data
also contains water-quality data collected from 1997 to
collected from 1997 through 2001, including
2001 in monitoring wells in the network. Specifically,
ground-water levels, measurements of water-
it includes nutrient data from samples collected at 31
quality field parameters, and concentrations of
observation wells in 1998, at 20 observation wells in
nutrients and arsenic.
September 2000, and at 21 observation wells in
August 2001. Samples collected in September 2000
INTRODUCTION also were analyzed for arsenic, to augment statewide
studies underway by the Maine State Department of
The Town of Windham is one of Maine’s fastest Health.
growing communities and one of the largest communi-
ties in the State without sewerage. Continued growth
DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA
poses potential risks to the quality of ground water. A
common indicator of ground-water contamination is
The Town of Windham lies 12 mi northwest of
elevated concentrations of nutrients. The nutrients are
Portland in Cumberland County, Maine. The study
typically derived from sewage, fertilizer, and animal or
area (fig. 1) is in North Windham, on the North
landfill waste. One of the primary recommendations of Windham 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle. The
an earlier ground-water evaluation (Gerber, Inc., 1997) population of Windham was 6,593 in 1970, 13,020 in
was to monitor ground-water quality. 1990, and 15,600 in 2000 (Maine Register, 2000).
Land use consists primarily of commercial and resi-
The USGS and the Town of Windham have had
dential areas. Most residential and commercial growth
an ongoing cooperative relationship for many years. A
in Windham has been in North Windham. Restaurants,
network of monitoring wells was established in 1995,
retail development, and light industrial businesses are
as part of an investigation of the sand and gravel aquifer
mainly along U.S. Route 302, which runs north/south
in North Windham (Nichols and Silverman, 1998). A
through North Windham.
study on the occurrence of methyl tert-butyl ether
(MTBE) was done in 1998 with the USGS, the Maine
Physiography, Climate, and Hydrology
Department of Environmental Protection, and the Town
of Windham (Nielsen and Peckenham, 2000). Most
The study area is bordered by hills to the north
recently, in 2000, the USGS and the Town of Windham
and northeast, Sebago Lake to the west, and Little
began a 3-year low intensity data-collection program to
Sebago Lake on the east. The terrain consists primarily
monitor hydrologic and water-quality conditions in the
of low relief and rolling hills to the south.
aquifer. Monitoring the quality of water in the estab-
lished well network will help determine if there is
Abstract 1
Figure 1. Location of the Windham aquifer study area, North Windham, Maine.
The climate in the Windham area is typified by Description of Well Network
mild summers and cold winters. Records from a
The primary identification number for each well
National Weather Service (NWS) station in Lewiston,
in the network is the 15-digit USGS station identifica-
Maine (14 mi to the northeast), with 114 years of
tion number (table 1). The secondary identification
record, indicate an average annual temperature of
number is the local well number, an alphanumeric
46°F, with mean monthly temperatures ranging from number, composed of an abbreviation of the county
20°F in January to 71°F in July (U.S. Department of name and sequential number (fig. 2).
Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Well depths range from 19 to 132 ft. The
Administration, 1999). The average annual precipita- screened intervals are mostly 5 or 10 ft, with a few wells
tion at the Lewiston station, with 125 years of record, having longer screens (20 or 30 ft). Depths of the
is 45.8 in. and is fairly evenly distributed throughout screened intervals of the wells range from 8 to 130 ft.
the year (U.S. Department of Commerce, National
RECORDS OF GROUND-WATER LEVELS
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1992).
Continuous Records
The Windham aquifer is termed a “significant
sand and gravel aquifer,” with yields greater than 10 to One observation well in the aquifer, CW 1983,
50 gal/min to a properly constructed well (Neil, 1999). is equipped with a downhole recorder that records
hourly ground-water levels. Ground-water levels for
The aquifer is composed primarily of glaciomarine
water years 1996–2001 are shown in table 2. Begin-
deltic sands and gravels. A buried esker with high
ning with water year 2000, ground-water level data
hydraulic conductivity lies in the northern part of the
also are published in the annual data report series
aquifer (Gerber, Inc., 1997). Detailed descriptions of
(Stewart and others, 2000). Water levels observed dur-
the hydrology of the aquifer can be found in Nielsen ing the period of record with the dates of ground-water
and Peckenham (2000) and Gerber, Inc. (1997). sample collected are shown in figure 3.
2 Ground-Water Levels and Water-Quality Data, Windham, Maine, 1997–2001
Table 1. Selected data for wells in the Windham aquifer
[Water-level data modified (values rounded) from Nichols and Silverman (1998). Aquifer codes: IC, ice-contact deposits; GL, glacial sediments,
undifferentiated; TL, till; M, marine; D, deltaic deposits. --, no data available]
Water level
Land surface Screened
U.S. Geological Survey Well Screen range,
Local well elevation, Aquifer interval,
station identification depth, length, in feet
number in feet above code in feet below
number in feet in feet below land
sea level land surface
surface
435002070255701 CW 1971 22 299.8 IC 17 - 22 5 12 - 16
434934070244101 CW 1975 47.5 273.9 M 32.5 - 37.5 5 21 - 26
435008070253901 CW 1979 109 309.1 D 104 - 109 5 37 - 39
434919070262601 CW 1980 36 307.1 IC 31 - 36 5 14 - 18
435018070250201 CW 1981 57.7 312.9 IC 44 - 49 5 22 - 28
434958070261601 CW 1982 55 297.5 GL 40 - 45 5 15 - 18
435039070261101 CW 1983 37.6 308.0 GL 32 - 37 5 14 - 18
435056070263701 CW 1984 132 295.1 IC 120 - 130 10 3 - 7
435055070263601 CW 1985 25.7 295.1 IC 15.5 - 25.5 10 3 - 7
434910070255601 CW 1987 111 303.5 IC 101 - 111 10 58 - 60
434941070261901 CW 1988 55 290.6 GL 48 - 55 7 1 - 4
434919070262602 CW 1989 19 307.0 GL 14 - 19 5 11 - 18
435002070255601 CW 1990 80 299.9 IC 60 - 80 20 25 - 28
435008070262901 CW 1992 54 305.0 GL 37 - 42 5 10 - 14
435008070262902 CW 1993 27 305.0 GL 22 - 27 5 8 - 11
434945070263401 CW 1994 20 276.7 TL 10 - 15 5 0 - 4
435012070265101 CW 1995 52 307.5 TL 22 - 32 10 11 - 15
435027070264801 CW 1998 35 312.0 GL 30 - 35 5 6 - 20
435026070264101 CW 1999 80 310.8 GL 78 - 80 8 18 - 23
435041070262301 CW 2000 70 319.7 GL 40 - 50 10 26 - 28
435131070261401 CW 2001 127 309.6 GL 97 - 127 30 13 - 16
434946070252301 CW 2003 67 316.2 GL 57 - 62 5 44 - 46
434927070255101 CW 2004 58 315.0 GL 38 - 58 20 49 - 51
435008070253902 CW 2005 48 309.0 GL 38 - 48 10 34 - 36
435040070264501 CW 2007 24 301.4 GL 14 - 24 10 8 - 10
435131070261402 CW 2008 27 309.5 GL 17 - 27 10 13 - 15
435026070264102 CW 2009 22 310.8 GL 12 - 22 10 11 - 14
435018070263201 CW 2010 32 310.7 GL 22 - 32 10 14 - 16
435014070264901 CW 2011 27 310.7 GL 17 - 27 10 12 - 14
435004070262101 CW 2012 27 307.6 GL 17 - 27 10 13 - 16
435136070271201 CW 2019 -- 312.8 -- 8.1 - 13.1 5 3 - 9
Records of Ground-Water Levels 3
Figure 2. Monitoring wells in the Windham aquifer, Windham, Maine. [Aquifer boundary from Neil, 1998.]
4 Ground-Water Levels and Water-Quality Data, Windham, Maine, 1997–2001