Estimating Local Ground-Water Flow Conditions in a Granitoid: Preliminary Assessments in the Waldoboro Pluton Complex, Maine

Periodic dry wells are reported by some homeowners in Knox and Lincoln Counties, Maine. These wells pump from the migmatitic Bucksport Fm. which is intermixed with the granitoids of the Waldoboro Pluton Complex. Previous remote sensing and geologic mapping delineated marked northeast-trending structures in the WPC which were initially suspected as influencing ground-water flow for sustainable well yields. A sample area, Pemaquid Pond, in the WPC was studied in more detail including preliminary hydraulic testing of homeowner wells and ground-waiter flow modeling. Wells with sustainable and greater yields appear to be associated instead with zones of northwest-trending structures in granitoids not intermixed with the Bucksport Fm. Dry wells appear to be more prevalent amongst northeast-trending structures in areas where the migmatitic metamorphic rocks outcrop. Hydraulic studies, including pumping, slug, pressure, and borehole dilution testing, resulted in a wide range of calculated hydraulic conductivities. Dual-porosity flow modeling and geostatistical parameterization of the flow conditions suggest that the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity is near E-9 m/d.