Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1983

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Geography

Major Professor

Theodore Schmudde

Committee Members

Edwin H. Hammond, Lance R. Carter

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of groundwater contamination from septic tank systems in the Ridge and Valley section of Claiborne County, Tennessee. During the past decade the rural landscape of Claiborne County was altered by a sharp increase in population, associated building of new housing, improvements in existing housing, and the introduction of subdivisions in previously rural areas of the county. These trends along with the increasing use of groundwater and a related increased use of septic tanks for effluent disposal, and the sensitive aquifer underlying the karst terrain in the county portend serious serious future problems of groundwater contamination.

The necessary steps used to reach the objectives of this study were: (1) to describe the environmental components of the study area—the bedrock lithology, the soils, the local hydrologic systems that recharge groundwater resources; (2) to describe the changing nature of the cultural landscape that affects water use and sewage disposal; and to evaluate the water resource situation of the study area by overlaying the environmental situation and the cultural lansdcape features.

The conclusion of this research is that the risk of biological contamination of groundwater depends on the environmental setting and water systems in use in the different sections of Claiborne County. In the northern Powell Valley, because of the highly susceptible aquifer, dense settlement pattern, and high use of groundwater in the 1970's, contamination problems have developed or are not a threat to water supplies. In the area around the towns of Tazewell and New Tazewell which has a similar environmental setting, water contamination is less a problem because of the rapid expansion of the local utility district.

Recommendations for improving residential water supplies are: 1. Improve the residents' perception of the risk of using raw groundwater; 2. Encourage greater monitoring by decreasing the cost of testing water samples for coliform bacteria; 3. Connect more rural households to utility water supplies; 4. Improve sewage disposal techniques with aeration systems and gray-water/black-water separation.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS