USING GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES TO DELINEATE SOLUTE INPUTS TO THE HEADWATERS PORTION OF THE CANE RUN/ROYAL SPRING BASIN OF NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY

The study was initiated to delineate solute inputs into the Cane Run basin located within Fayette and Scott Counties of north-central Kentucky. The underlying karst aquifer feeds into Royal Spring, the primary drinking water supply of Georgetown, Kentucky. The overall water quality of this region is thought to have been compromised by both point and nonpoint source pollution, from agricultural, industrial, and residential sources. The objective of this study is to identify contaminant sources, particularly in the urbanized headwaters of the basin, and interpret the relative contributions of these sources. This research is based upon the expectation that the urban and agricultural contamination of ground and surface waters within the karst aquifer underlying the Cane Run/Royal Spring basin can be further understood using stable isotopic tracers, general water quality measurements, and anion analyses.

Nitrate and ammonium, along with chloride, sulfate and stable isotopes of water, have been monitored biweekly at seven sampling locations within the Royal Spring basin for seven months. The study is expected to span a year period. Sampling sites include three springs and four locations along surface streams.

The results of such data will be presented using MATLAB software to create standard bivariate plots, principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses. Analytical results will be displayed within a GIS geodatabase of the basin using ArcGIS software. Statistical analyses will be used to identify spatial and temporal trends in solutes and stable isotopes, as well as hydrologic controls on solute concentrations during times of storm and base flow.

Using the results of such data it is proposed that it will be possible to characterize contaminant transport pathways within the headwaters. In addition, such analyses will further understanding and allow quantification of the relative contributions of solute inputs occurring within this area of the watershed.