Vanleer, Tennessee Karst Groundwater Dye Tracing Water Year 2024

Karst hydrologic systems are important resources in the state of Tennessee both as drinking water resources and as centers for possible biological diversity. These systems are susceptible to contamination due to the inherent connectivity between surface water and groundwater systems in karst systems. A partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) was formed to investigate karst spring systems across the state utilizing fluorescent groundwater tracing, particularly in areas where these resources may be used as drinking water sources. In fall 2021, USGS and TDEC staff identified possible vulnerabilities or complexities that may exist within karst spring systems based upon maturity of karst development, underlying geology, and uncertainties related to estimated recharge areas. Based upon initial research, several study areas were selected and fieldwork started in March 2022. In Water Year 2024 (10/1/2023-9/30/2024) dye tracing was conducted in the communities of Caryville, Lafayette, Morristown, Mount Pleasant, and Vanleer. Collectively these communities span multiple physiographic regions including the Western and Eastern Highland Rim, and the Valley and Ridge Province. Each of these communities rely on karst groundwater as a drinking water source. Additionally, these are all areas where the hydrology has been significantly altered by karst processes and thus the groundwater pathways are complex and unpredictable. The community of Vanleer is in Dickson County, Tennessee. The town drains west to Yellow Creek, a tributary of the Cumberland River. Mississippian St. Louis and Warsaw limestone units are dominant in the entire Vanleer area. These areas of mostly carbonate strata are altered by karst processes resulting in most surface water sinking underground and discharging at springs at lower reaches. In Water Year 2024, a total of three dye injections were conducted over one round on October 4, 2023. The monitoring network consisted of 52 monitoring sites where charcoal packets were deployed. This data release contains shapefiles of dye injection locations, monitoring sites, and dye traces conducted in the Vanleer area during the 2024 Water Year. All files were created in ArcGIS Pro and each shapefile contains associated attributes for the features contained within. Layer files are included with the datasets to match symbology found in figures in the accompanying report. All shapefiles and layers were created and modified in ArcGIS software. For a full description of the methods used to create these files, see Process Steps in the metadata file, "VN24_Metadata.xml". Data within each child item of this data release are named with a two-letter abbreviation unique for the community where the tracing occurred and the water year when the work was conducted (e.g. LF24). Abbreviations for the communities are as follows: CR = Caryville, LF = Lafayette, MR = Morristown, MP = Mount Pleasant, and VN = Vanleer.

                                            [
  "010:12"
]
                                        

                                            {
  "fn": "Benjamin V Miller",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:bvmiller@usgs.gov"
}
                                        

                                            [
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                                            [
  "Bartons Creek",
  "Bear Creek",
  "Cave Branch",
  "Cedar Creek",
  "Dickson County",
  "Dry Hollow",
  "East Fork Yellow Creek",
  "Furnace Creek",
  "Leatherwood Creek",
  "Tennessee",
  "Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation",
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  "Vanleer",
  "Yellow Creek",
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  "freshwater ecosystems",
  "groundwater",
  "groundwater and surface-water interaction",
  "groundwater flow",
  "hydrogeology",
  "karst",
  "karst areas",
  "karst hydrology",
  "springs"
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                                            {
  "name": "U.S. Geological Survey",
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                                            [
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