Geohydrology of the Upper Sixmile Creek/West Branch Owego Creek Valleys and Lower Sixmile Creek/Willseyville Creek Valleys, Town of Caroline, Tompkins County, New York

Problem - The Town of Caroline needs geohydrologic data in two major valley-fill aquifers within the town in order for planners to develop a strategy to manage and protect their water resources. Interest in the interaction between ground water and surface water has increased in recent years as a result of widespread concerns related to water supply. The need to better understand how the development of one water resource affects another will increase as development in Tompkins County intensifies. Upper Sixmile Creek/West Branch Owego Creeks valleys and Lower Sixmile Creek/Willseyville Creek valleys in the Town of Caroline were selected to be studied because they are undergoing increasing development; and most people in the Town of Caroline reside in the valleys and rely on wells that tap valley-fill sand and gravel aquifers for a source of water.

The objective of the proposed study is to improve the understanding of the geohydrology of the valley-fill sand and gravel aquifers in the Town of Caroline. Specifically, the study will provide the following information: (1) extent and thickness of geohydrologic units, (2) hydraulic conditions in the aquifers- whether the units are confined (artesian) or unconfined, (3) extent of ground water/surface-water interaction, (4) ground-water use (type and amount of ground-water withdrawal), (5) water levels in the geohydroloic units and the direction of ground-water flow, (6) identification of areas where there is little or no data, and (7) general water quality of aquifers.