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Study
unit map - The Santee River Basin and coastal drainages includes
about 24,000 square miles in North and South Carolina. The Santee
River has the second largest drainage area in the Eastern United States,
and its basin makes up 70 percent of the study area. The basins of
the Cooper, Edisto, and numerous smaller rivers make up the remainder
of the study area. |
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Landuse
- Land use in the Santee Basin includes about 60 percent forested,
30 percent agricultural, and 6 percent urban lands. |
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Water
Quality Sampling Sites - The Santee River Basin and coastal drainages
(the “Santee Basin”) is an approximately 24,000-square-mile area in
North and South Carolina that encompasses the Blue Ridge Mountains,
the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain (Fenneman, 1946). Most of the
3.5 million people in the Santee Basin live in urban areas. Eighty-six
percent of the water used in homes and for industry is treated surface
water withdrawn from rivers or reservoirs. Ground water is the main
water source for rural households. |
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Average
Annual Precipitation - Precipitation affects water quality by
producing runoff to streams and infiltration to aquifers. |
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Radon
Concentrations - Radon concentrations were highest in the Piedmont
and Sandhills aquifers, resulting from naturally high levels of uranium
in near-surface rocks and sediment. |
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Stream
Chemistry and Biology Sampling Sites - Fixed sites were sampled
to examine differences in streamwater quality due to the environmental
setting, a combination of land use, geology, physiography, and climate. |
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Ground
Water Chemistry Sampling Sites - Subunit surveys were conducted
in three drinking-water supply aquifers to assess overall water quality.
Land-use studies in urban and agricultural settings evaluated the
effects of these land uses on shallow ground water. An agricultural
flow-path study examined the transport and fate of nutrients and pesticides
in shallow ground water. |
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Special
Studies Sampling Sites - The effects of a forested wetland on
nutrient concentrations in stream water were studied as part of the
Forested Wetland Initiative, a joint research project with the U.S.
Forest Service. |
