DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPTUAL MODEL TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL FOR AN ON-CAMPUS GROUNDWATER SUPPLY WELLFIELD TO FULFILL THE WATER NEEDS OF SUNY NEW PALTZ

The Catskill Aqueduct, the primary water provider for the Village of New Paltz, New York will be temporarily shut down for a period of 20 weeks during 2018-2019. The State University of New York (SUNY), New Paltz campus relies on the Catskill Aqueduct for its water supply and uses approximately 240,000 gallons (908 m³) per day. It is necessary to explore additional water supply sources for the SUNY New Paltz campus during this upcoming period. The objective of this study is to analyze the sustainability of developing a ground water wellfield on campus in order to fulfill the temporary water needs. For this research, regional ground water data was collected from pre-existing sources, such as hydrogeologic investigation reports, topographic maps, and environmental impact assessments. Geographic Information System (GIS) as well as aquifer test methods were utilized to analyze the gathered information. The average groundwater yield of this aquifer system is 52,747 gallons (200 m³) per day based on 8 drillers’ logs of nearby locations. By utilizing driller logs of those wells, the average transmissivity of the nearby aquifer system was calculated using the specific capacity of each well. The calculated average transmissivity of the nearby aquifer system is 1.36 m²/day based on the specific capacity of the 8 wells which were drilled approximately 1 kilometer southeast of the SUNY New Paltz campus. However, the aquifer transmissivity needed to fulfill the water needs for the campus is estimated to be approximately 7 m²/day. Assuming that the SUNY New Paltz campus contains the same aquifer system, we concluded that this transmissivity will not fulfill the water needs of the campus. We expect the storage coefficient of this aquifer system to be very low because groundwater is stored in secondary pore spaces in a fractured shale system. Further research is needed to calculate the safe yield of this groundwater system.