Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This study aims to quantify the nature of the aquifer at Jamestown, VA focusing on how water flows in and out of the aquifer, the sources of high salinity (conductivity) in the aquifer, and the presence of fecal coliform bacteria in the area. This is accomplished by collecting data from 18 monitoring wells on the island as well as data from the local Pitch and Tar Swamp and James River. Salinity in the James River is near ocean levels during the summer and fall months and declines to near-freshwater in the winter and spring. Even though the settlers came to the stark realization that the river was unsafe to drink, highly saline water is transmitted into the aquifer through the Pitch and Tar Swamp. The aquifer stays at a constant salinity all year round; prolonged exposure to this water could cause health problems especially in the hot summer months of Virginia. Settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607, creating the first permanent English settlement in the new world. Death and disease plagued the settlers in the first few years, causing extreme mortality rates for the first few years. Results of this study show that the Jamestown aquifer is high in salinity and has the potential for disease carrying bacteria to enter the shallow drinking water. Water elevation data suggests that water flows out of the Pitch and Tar Swamp and into the aquifer almost exclusively meaning that the current Jamestown aquifer has the same inputs as the aquifer 400 years ago.

Date Awarded

2013

Department

Geology

Advisor 1

Gregory S. Hancock

Advisor 2

James M. Kaste

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