Orange County NC Website
TABLE 3.6 <br /> NC GROUNDWATER CLASSIFICATIONS <br /> Class GA Waters: <br /> The best usage for this class of waters is as an existing or potential <br /> source of drinking water supply for humans. <br /> This class is intended for those groundwaters in which chloride <br /> concentrations are equal to or less than 250 mg/I, and which are <br /> considered suitable for drinking in their natural state, but which may <br /> require treatment to improve quality related to natural conditions. <br /> Class GSA Waters: <br /> The best usage for this class of waters is as an existing or potential <br /> source of water supply for potable mineral water and conversion to <br /> fresh waters. <br /> This class is intended for those groundwaters in which the chloride <br /> concentrations due to natural conditions are in excess of 250 mg/I, <br /> but which otherwise may be considered suitable for use as a potable <br /> water after treatment to reduce concentrations of naturally occurring <br /> substances. <br /> Class GC Waters: <br /> The best usage of this class of waters is as a source of water supply <br /> for purposes other than drinking. <br /> This class includes those groundwaters that do not meet the quality <br /> criteria of waters having a higher classification and for which efforts <br /> to restore in-situ to a higher classification would not be <br /> technologically feasible, or not in the best interest of the public. <br /> The quarry site is located on the southwest end of a small occurrence of Andesitic tuff. This <br /> formation has been described by Allen & Wilson (1968) as "Andesitic to dacitic medium to dark <br /> greenish-gray lithic tuffs, crystal lithic tuffs and tuff breccias, locally containing lahars". It is one <br /> of several volcanic and volcano-clastic formations found in this part of Orange County. At the <br /> quarry site the rock is weathered to a depth of approximately thirty (30) feet and appears to be <br /> well fractured. Despite the fractured appearance, the existing quarry pit has few areas of water <br /> seeps. Those few seeps appear to be mostly confined to the southwest end of the quarry. The <br /> low water yield of the quarry is consistent with the generally low water productivity of these <br /> tuffaceous rocks. <br /> 3-16 <br />