Reports
Hydrogeologic assessment of the Cox Creek Dredged Material Containment Facility
2015, Gemperline, J.M. and Andreasen, D.C.
Administrative Report 14-02-06
Abstract
The Maryland Port Administration is examining the possibility of raising the dikes at the Cox Creek Dredged Material Containment Facility and expanding onto adjacent upland areas. The site, located in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, lies in the outcrop area of the Patapsco confining unit, which overlies the Lower Patapsco aquifer system, the Arundel Clay confining unit, and the Patuxent aquifer system. This study was conducted to evaluate and refine the hydrogeologic framework and groundwater flow regime previously developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of an assessment of the site expansion on local groundwater resources. Data collected during this study indicate that the shallowest aquifer at the site, the Lower Patapsco aquifer system, is effectively separated hydraulically from the surface by relatively thick, low permeability clay of the Patapsco confining unit as indicated by well waterlevel response to barometric pressure and precipitation events. Additionally, groundwater in the Lower Patapsco aquifer system at the site flows eastward toward the Patapsco River. Therefore, placement of additional dredged material is unlikely to affect the Lower Patapsco aquifer system.
