GROUND WATER IN NORTH-CENTRAL TENNESSEE
GROUND WATER IN NORTH-CENTRAL TENNESSEE
GROUND WATER IN NORTH-CENTRAL TENNESSEE
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*J12 GEOTJND WATEtt <strong>IN</strong> NORtH*CEN*RAL <strong>TENNESSEE</strong><br />
rather cavernous, as at Whitehurst Cave (No. 361, pi. 4), about 4<br />
miles northeast of Franklin, and along the crest of the ridge crossed<br />
by the Murfreesboro pike between 4 and 5 miles east-southeast of<br />
Franklin. These cavernous zones, which occur approximately from<br />
100 to 200 feet above the major valleys, were clearly formed before<br />
the Nashville Basin stage of stream planation (pp. 20-22), for they<br />
have been cut through by streams adjusted to that Stage and gener<br />
ally are completely drained. That along the Muffrfeesboro pike,<br />
however, constitutes a natural reservoir and impounds Water, which<br />
is exposed in several sink holes about 740 feet above sea level,<br />
such as Armstrong's Pond (No. 374), and is discharged by several<br />
perennial springs between 700 and 740 feet above sea level about the<br />
periphery of the hilly tract. Presumably the principal outlets of this<br />
cavernous zone are wholly or partly clogged with debris, else Water<br />
could not be impounded in it. In these same hilly tracts some drilled<br />
wells penetrate water-bearing beds between 40 and 200 feet below the<br />
surface, although most wells are between 60 and 100 feet deep. Some<br />
Wells that are close together find water at different depths. Generally<br />
the Water associated with beds 100 feet or less below the surface con<br />
tains only a moderate amount of dissolved calcium bicarbonate and<br />
other mineral matter and is not unduly hard. On the other hand, the<br />
water associated with the shallower beds in a few places and with the<br />
deeper water-bearing beds at most places is likely to be BO highly con<br />
centrated in sulp'hate or chloride and to have so much noncarbonate<br />
or permanent hardness that it is quite unsuited for general use. Anal<br />
ysis 394 (pp. 116-117) is typical of the calcium sulphate waters. Fur<br />
thermore, some of the waters are reported to contain hydrogen sulphide,<br />
as in well 378, or appreciable amounts of petroleum or natural gas, as<br />
in wells 399 and 401. Both potable and highly mineralized nonpotable<br />
Water are encountered by well 373 in beds that are approximately<br />
40 feet and 200 feet, respectively, below the surface. The water from<br />
this well is usable for domestic purposes only in the wet season, when<br />
the static level of the ground water in the 40-foot bed is at its highest<br />
and is considerably above that of the 200-foot bed. Furthermore,<br />
many wells in the hilly tracts, such as Nos. 357, 363, 388, and 396, do<br />
not find any Water-bearing beds even though they range from 40 to<br />
225 feet or more in depth. Well 389 passed through a water"-bearing<br />
bed that yielded 15 gallons a day about 40 feet below the surface but<br />
found no other water-bearing beds to a depth of 300 feet. Among<br />
the most reliable sources of water in the hilly areas are perennial<br />
springs, such as Nos. 362 and 364, although none are known whose<br />
minimum annual discharge is much more than 25 gallons a minute.<br />
In the valleys of the east half of the county ground-Water condi<br />
tions also differ greatly from place to place. In general the Welife may<br />
be divided into two groups those which obtain moderately coacfen-