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Alluvium (Qa)
Topography
Alluvium forms terraces and floodplains along the Green and Rough Rivers
and their larger tributaries.
Hydrology
The alluvium may yield as much as 100 gallons per minute from sands
and gravel along the Green and Rough Rivers. Wells along the Rough River
between Taffy and Dundee yield over 10 gallons per minute. Most wells
in thin alluvium furnish less than 100 gallons per day, inadequate for
a domestic supply. Coarse sand and gravel may occur in the alluvium
where Pennsylvanian rocks are close to streams. Water is hard.
Shelburn Formation (formerly part of the Sturgis Formation)
(Ps)
Topography
The Shelburn forms dissected uplands and ridgetops.
Hydrology
The Shelburn yields practically no water except to wells penetrating
sandstone. Water near outcrop areas is hard, but is increasingly soft
downdip. Sodium bicarbonate content increases downdip. Iron may be present
in objectionable amounts.
Carbondale Formation (Pc)
Topography
The Carbondale forms dissected uplands and ridgetops. Resistant sandstone
beds in the Carbondale form cliffs as much as 50 feet high.
Hydrology
The Carbondale yields enough water for a modern domestic supply to wells
penetrating sandstone, but practically no water to wells penetrating
only shale. Water is hard or very hard.
Tradewater Formation (Pt)
Topography
The Tradewater underlies dissected uplands and ridgetops. Resistant
sandstone beds in the Tradewater form cliffs.
Hydrology
The Tradewater generally yields only small quantities of water to wells.
It may yield enough water for a modern domestic supply to wells penetrating
a sufficient thickness of sandstone. Water is fresh near outcrop areas,
but becomes increasingly mineralized with depth. Some wells in the Aberdeen
Sandstone produce over 20 gallons per minute.
Caseyville Formation (Pca)
Topography
The Caseyville underlies rolling uplands. It forms dissected uplands
and ridgetops near the Green River.
Hydrology
Yields of 60 gallons per minute have been obtained from thick sandstone
beds in the Caseyville. The Caseyville will yield enough water for a
modern domestic supply to most wells penetrating sandstone. At depth,
the water becomes salty or may have a high sodium bicarbonate content.
Electric logs indicate that moderately mineralized water may be obtained
locally from this formation at depths of 1,200 feet.
Buffalo Wallow Formation, Leitchfield Formation, Tar Springs Sandstone
(Mcu)
Topography
These formations lie in gently rolling uplands and fairly steep slopes
adjacent to stream valleys. Sandstone lenses, some massive, form small
benches.
Hydrology
These formations yield little or no water.
Glen Dean Limestone, Hardinsburg Sandstone (Mcl)
Topography
The Glen Dean underlies gently rolling to level uplands. The uplands
are dissected along the perimeter of the Dripping Springs Escarpment.
Limestone forms steep slopes above benches of the underlying sandstone.
Sandstone forms small discontinuous benches on hillsides.
Hydrology
Most wells in upland areas are inadequate for domestic supply, yielding
little or no water.
Golconda Formation (Haney Limestone, Big Clifty Sandstone, Beech
Creek Limestone Members) (Mcl)
Topography
Golconda limestone underlies gently rolling to flat uplands and forms
bluffs near heads of valleys. The Big Clifty Sandstone caps the Dripping
Springs Escarpment, several hundred feet high. The Golconda underlies
gently rolling uplands.
Hydrology
Deep wells that penetrate the sandstone formations near perennial stream
level may produce enough for a domestic supply (more than 500 gallons
per day). Close to outcrop areas, particularly near major escarpments,
yields from perched water bodies generally are low and not dependable.
Minor spring horizons occur on discontinuous layers of shale near the
base of the sandstones. The most conspicuous springs are those that
discharge from the base of the Big Clifty Sandstone. These are the “dripping
springs” of the Dripping Springs Escarpment. Many of these springs
go dry during the late fall and summer, and very few are adequate for
a domestic supply. Limestone formations yield small to adequate supplies
from solution openings. In lowland areas bordering streams, some wells
produce enough for a domestic supply. Many springs occur at the base
of the limestones where they crop out on escarpments and hillsides.
Generalized areas of underground mining have been compiled for several
important coal beds as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National
Coal Assessment Program. Using these data, a map was created showing
mined-out
areas of selected seams in Ohio County.
The U.S. Geological Survey's Hydrologic
Atlas Series, published cooperatively with the Kentucky Geological
Survey, provides hydrologic information for the entire state.
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