U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5084

Delineation of Areas Having Elevated Electrical 

Conductivity, Orientation and Characterization

of Bedrock Fractures, and Occurrence of 

Groundwater Discharge to Surface Water 

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site

Near McCormick, South Carolina
Cover. Drilling equipment used by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contractors during the construction of well BH66 in October 2012.
Delineation of Areas Having Elevated Electrical 

Conductivity, Orientation and Characterization 

of Bedrock Fractures, and Occurrence of 

Groundwater Discharge to Surface Water

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site 

Near McCormick, South Carolina

By Melinda J. Chapman, Brad A. Huffman, and Kristen Bukowski McSwain

Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 4, Superfund Section 

Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5084

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2015

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Suggested citation:

Chapman, M.J., Huffman, B.A., and McSwain, K.B., 2015, Delineation of areas having elevated electrical 

conductivity, orientation and characterization of bedrock fractures, and occurrence of groundwater discharge 

to surface water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

near McCormick, South Carolina: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5084, 95 p., 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20155084.

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)
iii

Contents

Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2

Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................6

Study Area............................................................................................................................................10

Geologic Setting.........................................................................................................................10

Surface Water............................................................................................................................11

Groundwater...............................................................................................................................11

Methods.........................................................................................................................................................12

Borehole Geophysical Logs ..............................................................................................................12

Surface Electromagnetic Conductivity Surveys............................................................................13

Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Survey..................................................................14

Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data.................................................................................15

Delineation of Shallow Conductivity from Electromagnetic-Induction Logs............................15

Characterization of Bedrock Fractures and Foliation from Borehole Geophysical Logs .......17

Surface Geophysical Surveys....................................................................................................................31

Delineation of Areas of Elevated Conductivity ..............................................................................31

Delineation of Areas of Groundwater Discharge .........................................................................40

Summary........................................................................................................................................................44

References ...................................................................................................................................................45

Appendix 1. Borehole Geophysical Logging Field Notes.....................................................................48

Appendix 2. Downhole Camera Well Inspection Logging Notes........................................................77

Appendix 3. Water-Quality Results of Borehole-Tool Rinse-Water Samples...................................79

Appendix 4. Borehole Geophysical Logs and Water-Quality Profiles................................................80

Appendix 5. Borehole Geophysical Logs Showing Depth of Fracture Zones and 

Structural Feature Orientation .....................................................................................................87

Appendix 6. Flow-Log Analysis of Single Holes Model of Bedrock Well IR-1 Heat-Pulse 

Flowmeter Logs...............................................................................................................................90
iv

Figures

1. Map showing physiographic provinces and location of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site within McCormick 

County and the Piedmont Physiographic Province in South Carolina.................................2

2. Map showing former operational areas of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina...............3

3. Map showing location of the town of McCormick, McCormick County, 

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site, Hawe Creek, and J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Clarks Hill Lake, 

South Carolina...............................................................................................................................4

4. Map showing topography and surrounding surface-water features at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields

Superfund site, near McCormick, South Carolina...................................................................5

5. Map showing wells logged using borehole geophysical methods at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina....................................................................8

6. Map showing location of the GEM-2 (electromagnetic) and fiber-optic distributed

temperature sensing surveys at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina...............9

7. Electrical conductivity logs of regolith wells BH33 and BH34 showing a 

shallow area of high conductivity from land surface to about 72 feet and

at depth within the screened interval for well BH33, October 2012, at the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................15

8. Electrical conductivity logs of regolith wells BH51, BH50, and BH49 showing 

a shallow area of high conductivity from land surface to about 110 feet in 

wells BH51 and BH50 and at depth within the screened interval for all 

three wells, October 2012, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.............16

9. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and vertical flow 

in bedrock well IR-1, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina...............................................18

10. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log 

in bedrock well BH65, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina...............................................19

11. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log 

in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina...............................................20

12. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log 

in bedrock well BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada

Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina...............................................21

13. Optical and acoustic televiewer images showing foliation and secondary 

fractures in bedrock well IR-1, fractures within the transition zone in bedrock 

well IR-1, secondary mineral veins in bedrock well IR-1, primary and secondary 

fractures in bedrock well BH67, and primary and secondary fractures in bedrock

well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................22
v

14. Rose diagrams showing strike azimuths of all structural features characterized 

by using either optical or acoustic televiewer images of bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, 

and BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................25

15. Map showing areal distribution of structural features delineated in bedrock

wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/

Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina................................26

16. Rose diagram showing strike azimuths of foliation measured in bedrock well IR-1,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................27

17. Rose diagrams showing strike azimuths of primary factures characterized by 

using either optical or acoustic televiewer images of bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, 

and BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................28

18. Map showing areal distribution of open fractures delineated in bedrock 

wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.............29

19. Composite rose diagram showing strike azimuths of all fractures measured in 

bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.............30

20. Schematic cross-section view of three-dimensional fractures and foliation in

bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina ............30

21. Map showing location of seeps identified in June 2009 and total surface electrical 

conductivity survey results collected during December 2012 at selected areas

across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................32

22. Map showing location of seeps identified in June 2009 and surface electrical 

conductivity survey results when using the shallow 47,970-hertz frequency during 

December 2012 at selected areas across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.............33

23. Map showing location of seeps identified in June 2009 and surface electrical 

conductivity survey results when using the shallow 33,030-hertz frequency during 

December 2012 at selected areas across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.............34

24. Map showing location of seeps identified in June 2009 and surface electrical

conductivity survey results when using the intermediate 8,250-hertz frequency during 

December 2012 at selected areas across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.............35

25. Map showing location of seeps identified in June 2009 and surface electrical 

conductivity survey results when using the deep 1,530-hertz frequency during 

December 2012 at selected areas across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.............36

26. Map showing location of electromagnetic conductivity data collected along

the westernmost survey line southeast of the Main Pit lake and graph showing

corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 at the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................37
vi

27. Map showing location of surface electromagnetic conductivity data and 

water-quality readings along the northern unnamed tributary and graph 

showing corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................38

28. Map showing location of surface electromagnetic conductivity data collected 

along the northeasternmost survey line over Rainsford Pit and graph showing 

corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................39

29. Map showing location of the distributed temperature sensing survey near the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site, northern unnamed tributary, February 26–March 7, 2013........................40

30. Graphs showing distributed temperature sensing measurements collected in 

the northern unnamed tributary at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite 

Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site from February 28 to March 7, 2013: recorded

air temperature cycles; water temperature in previously identified seep and 

non-seep areas; and thermogram images during the monitoring period and 

graphs showing the 7-day mean surface-water temperatures on the warmest 

and coldest days/times..............................................................................................................42

31. Map showing location of seeps identified in June 2009 and line of distributed

temperature sensing measurements and areas of interpreted groundwater 

discharge in the unnamed northern tributary measured March 4, 2013, at 7:34 a.m. 

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina..................................................................43

Tables

1. Construction data for wells logged using borehole geophysical equipment

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina....................................................................6

2. Physical properties and constituents of groundwater measured during well

water-quality profiling during December 2012 at the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near 

McCormick, South Carolina ......................................................................................................13
vii

Conversion Factors

Inch/Pound to SI

Multiply By To obtain

Length

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm)

inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter (mm)

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

Area

acre 4,047 square meter (m2

)

acre 0.4047 hectare (ha)

acre 0.4047 square hectometer (hm2

) 

acre 0.004047 square kilometer (km2

)

square foot (ft2

) 0.09290 square meter (m2)

Volume

gallon (gal) 3.785 liter (L) 

gallon (gal) 0.003785 cubic meter (m3

) 

gallon (gal) 3.785 cubic decimeter (dm3

) 

million gallons (Mgal) 3,785 cubic meter (m3

)

cubic feet (ft3

) 0.0283168 cubic meters (m3)

Flow or movement rate

foot per day (ft/d) 0.3048 meter per day (m/d)

cubic foot per second (ft3

/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second (m3/s)

gallon per minute (gal/min) 0.06309 liter per second (L/s)

kilometers per hour (km/h) 0.621371 miles per hour (mi/hr)

Transmissivity*

foot squared per day (ft2

/d) 0.09290 meter squared per day (m2/d) 

Frequency

Hertz (Hz) 1 cycle per second

millimhos per meter 1,000/mmhos/m ohm-meters

millimhos per meter 1 millisiemens per meter

SI to Inch/Pound 

Multiply By To obtain

Length

meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) 

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

kilometer (km) 0.5400 mile, nautical (nmi) 

meter (m) 1.094 yard (yd) 

Flow rate

cubic meter per second (m3

/s) 70.07 acre-foot per day (acre-ft/d) 

cubic meter per second (m3

/s) 35.31 cubic foot per second (ft3/s)

cubic meter per second (m3

/s) 22.83 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 

kilometer per hour (km/h) 0.6214 mile per hour (mi/h)
viii

Conversion Factors—Continued

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F =(1.8 ×°C) +32

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows:

°C=(°F –32)/ 1.8

*Transmissivity: The standard unit for transmissivity is cubic foot per day per square foot times 

foot of aquifer thickness [(ft3/d)/ft2]ft. In this report, the mathematically reduced form, foot 

squared per day (ft2/d), is used for convenience.

Specific conductance is given in microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius (μS/cm).

Specific conductance as recorded during water-quality profiles was measured using a 

calibrated probe. However, specific conductance logs presented in borehole geophysical tools 

are considered qualitative because the tool was not calibrated in the field. 

Concentrations of chemical constituents in water are given either in milligrams per liter (mg/L) 

or micrograms per liter (μg/L).

Datums

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 

(NAVD 88).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).

Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum.

Abbreviations

ATV acoustic televiewer image log

EM electromagnetic

DTS distributed temperature sensing

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

FLASH Flow-Log Analysis of Single Holes

GPS global positioning system

NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

NPL National Priorities List

PVC polyvinyl chloride

OTV optical televiewer image log

START EPA Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team

USGS U.S. Geological Survey
ix

Acknowledgments

Information shared by Candice Teichert, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 

Superfund Section, and Tom Moyer, Black and Veatch, Inc., Denver, Colorado, were essential 

to the successful completion of this study. 

The authors would like to thank Tim Lanier, William F. Falls, Matthew D. Petkewich, 

Scott Caldwell, and Dominick Antolino of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) South Atlantic 

Water Science Center for their assistance with the surface geophysical surveys and collection 

of geophysical logs. Much appreciation is extended to Laura Gurley of the USGS South Atlantic 

Water Science Center for assistance with figure preparation for this report. 

Delineation of Areas Having Elevated Electrical 

Conductivity, Orientation and Characterization 

of Bedrock Fractures, and Occurrence of 

Groundwater Discharge to Surface Water

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site 

Near McCormick, South Carolina

By Melinda J. Chapman, Brad A. Huffman, and Kristen Bukowski McSwain

Abstract 

During October 2012 through March 2013, the 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4, 

Superfund Section, conducted borehole geophysical logging, 

surface geophysical surveys, and water-quality profiling in 

selected wells and areas to characterize or delineate the extent 

of elevated subsurface electrical conductivity at the EPA 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, 

South Carolina. Elevated electrical conductivity measured at 

the site may be related to native rock materials, waste rock 

disposal areas used in past operations, and (or) groundwater 

having elevated dissolved solids (primarily metals and major 

ions) related to waste migration. Five shallow screened wells 

and four open-borehole bedrock wells were logged by using 

a suite of borehole tools, and downhole water-quality profiles 

were recorded in two additional wells. Well depths ranged from 

about 26 to 300 feet below land surface. Surface geophysical 

surveys based on frequency-domain electromagnetic and 

distributed temperature sensing (DTS) techniques were used 

to identify areas of elevated electrical conductivity (Earth 

materials and groundwater) and potential high dissolved solids 

in groundwater and surface water on land and in areas along 

the northern unnamed tributary at the site.

Results from the electromagnetic-induction logging of 

four selected wells near the Main Pit and one well located 

about 800 feet southeast of the Main Pit lake indicate that 

elevated electrical conductivity extends to a depth of about 

110 feet below land surface. Groundwater-quality properties 

recorded in eight selected wells were highly variable, 

suggesting a broad spectrum of geochemical conditions and 

contaminant concentrations within the groundwater system. 

Ranges of field water-quality properties recorded from waterprofiling of groundwater in all wells logged were as follows: 

pH, 3.1 to 9.2; specific conductance, 48 to 5,300 microsiemens 

per centimeter; dissolved oxygen, 0.2 to 4.4 milligrams per 

liter; and water temperature, 17.0 to 18.0 degrees Celsius. The 

highest specific conductance and lowest pH measurements 

were made in boreholes located between the Main Pit lake 

and the northern unnamed tributary. Conceptually, these wells 

may intercept elevated dissolved solids in groundwater leaking 

from the Main Pit lake along a flow path that discharges into 

the unnamed tributary to the north. Results from surface 

geophysical electromagnetic and fiber-optics surveys confirm 

areas of focused discharge of groundwater near the Main Pit 

lake along the northern unnamed tributary. The frequencydomain surface electromagnetic surveys also identified an area 

with higher levels of elevated electrical conductivity located 

northwest of the former Rainsford Pit area. 

Bedrock properties were characterized from borehole 

geophysical logs collected from three open-borehole bedrock 

wells. The mean strike azimuth of the borehole foliation data 

measured in bedrock well IR-1 was 221° (N. 41° E.), and the 

mean dip angle was 78° to the northwest. Dominant strike 

azimuth orientations of primary fractures measured in three 

boreholes were from 210° to 250° (N. 30° E. to N. 70° E.) 

with a mean dip of 68° northwest. Transmissivity estimates 

interpreted from the heat-pulse flowmeter data from bedrock 

well IR-1 were about 69 feet squared per day, and the radius 

of influence was estimated at about 640 feet.
2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Introduction

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has 

created a National Priority List (NPL) of abandoned hazardous 

waste sites to determine which sites require additional investigation or remediation. A former gold mine near McCormick, 

South Carolina (fig. 1), was officially placed on the NPL 

in 2009 as a result of the presence of elevated heavy metal 

concentrations (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, 

mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, and zinc) and cyanide in 

soil, sediment, groundwater, and surface water onsite and in 

tributaries. The site, named the Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields, 

covers approximately 795 acres, with former mining operations encompassing approximately 135 acres. The site was 

operated from 1989 until 1995 as a conventional open-pit 

mine using cyanide heap-leaching processes for gold recovery. 

During operation, the site included two open mine pits: the 

20-acre Main Pit and the former 4-acre Rainsford Pit areas 

83° 82° 81° 80° 79°

35°

34°

33°

32°

25 50 75 100 MILES

0 25 50 75 100 KILOMETERS

0

GEORGIA

NORTH CAROLINA

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, various scales

Town of

McCormick

MCCORMICK

COUNTY

Figure 1. Physiographic provinces and location of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Barite Hill/

Nevada Goldfields Superfund site within McCormick County and the Piedmont Physiographic Province in South Carolina. 

SOUTH CAROLINA

EPA Barite Hill/

Nevada Goldfields

Superfund site

Figure 1. Physiographic provinces and location of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site within McCormick County and the Piedmont Physiographic Province in South Carolina.
Introduction 3

(fig. 2). In addition to the mine pits, the site also included a 

processing plant, a reusable heap-leach facility that consisted 

of an asphalt-lined leach pad, a permanent leach pad, seven 

ponds, and two waste disposal areas (U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 2012). 

Mining operations ceased in 1995, at which time 

Nevada Goldfields, Inc., (the operational company) began 

reclaiming the site (restoring the site to natural or less 

disturbed conditions). Site reclamation continued until 1999 

when the company filed for bankruptcy. At that time, the site 

was abandoned, and the facility was taken over by the South 

Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. 

Prior to site abandonment, the company treated the Main 

Pit lake water with sodium hydroxide to reduce the acidity 

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2007).

Figure 2. Former operational areas of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina (Candice Teichert, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, written 

commun., 2012).

Waste 

disposal

area A

Rainsford

Pit

Reusable

asphalt

leach pad

Permanent

leach pad

Former

processing

plant

Rinse

pond 1

Rinse

pond 2

Pregnant pond

Main

Pit

lake

Waste disposal

area C landfill

Barren

pond

Pregnant

pond

Rinse

pond

Barren pond

Previous

outfall 3

New outfall 3,

previous outfall 2

Outfall 1

Outfall 1

Outfall 01A ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Unnamed tributary

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

Former operational area

Outfall and identifier

EXPLANATION

Study area

Figure 2. Former operational areas of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina (Candice Teichert, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

written commun., 2012).

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection
4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

82°30' 82°20' 82°10'

34°00'

33°50'

33°40'

0 2.5 5 7.5 10 MILES

0 5 10 KILOMETERS 2.5 7.5

GEORGIA

EDGEFIELD

COUNTY

GREENWOOD

COUNTY

ABBEVILLE

COUNTY

J Strom Thurmond Dam

and

Clarks Hill Lake 

Hawe Creek

Study 

area

MCCORMICK

COUNTY

Town of

McCormick

Figure 3. Location of the town of McCormick, McCormick County, the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site, Hawe Creek, and J. Strom 

Thurmond Dam and Clarks Hill Lake, South Carolina.

SOUTH

CAROLINA

Savannah River

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, various scales

When the mine was abandoned, the Main Pit slowly 

filled up with water (runoff and groundwater inflow). Much 

of this water was in contact with acid-producing minerals in 

surrounding waste rock, resulting in approximately 60 million 

gallons of acidic water (pH of approximately 2) and a high 

dissolved inorganic content in the Main Pit, now referred to as 

the Main Pit lake (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009). 

Acidic water and dissolved inorganic constituents seeped from 

the site into unnamed tributaries to Hawe Creek that border 

the pit, flowed to Hawe Creek, and eventually flowed to the 

Savannah River and J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Clarks Hill 

Lake, approximately 2 miles (mi) downstream (figs. 3 and 4). 

Figure 3. Location of the town of McCormick, McCormick County, the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site, Hawe Creek, and J. Strom 

Thurmond Dam and Clarks Hill Lake, South Carolina.
Introduction 5

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection

Unnamed tributaryUnnamed tributary

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Figure 4. Topography and surrounding surface-water features at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site, near McCormick, South Carolina.

EXPLANATION

Study area

Former operational area

Topographic contour—Shows altitude of land surface.

Contour interval 10 feet. Datum is NAVD 88

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82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

Figure 4. Topography and surrounding surface-water features at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site, near McCormick, South Carolina. 

In February 2012, EPA Region 4, Superfund Section 

staff requested assistance from the U.S Geological Survey 

(USGS) in order to better delineate areas of elevated electrical 

conductivity in the subsurface and water, characterize subsurface fracture orientations in the bedrock, and identify areas 

of increased groundwater discharge to the unnamed northern 

tributary to Hawe Creek. The USGS study used a combination 

of surface and borehole geophysical techniques to delineate 

areas of elevated electrical conductivity and characterize the 

groundwater system. A history of site operations and remedial investigations is provided online at http://www.epa.gov/

region4/superfund/sites/npl/southcarolina/bhilngldflsc.html

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). 
6 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to describe the results of the 

study conducted by the USGS at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site during October 2012 through 

March 2013. Surface and borehole geophysical methods were 

used to delineate areas of elevated electrical conductivity at 

the site and assist with the characterization of the groundwater 

system. The scope of this report includes the documentation 

of delineation of areas of elevated conductivity in selected 

wells and other locations, bedrock fracture characteristics 

and orientations, and identification of areas of groundwater 

discharge in the northern unnamed tributary to Hawe Creek. 

During October–November 2012, borehole geophysical 

logs were collected in three newly drilled wells, which were 

installed as part of this study by EPA contractors, and in six 

existing wells (table 1; fig. 5). In addition, groundwaterquality profiles of water temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen were recorded at selected 

intervals in 11 wells (8 existing and 3 newly drilled). The 

Table 1. Construction data for wells logged using borehole geophysical equipment at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

[USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; datum for latitude and longitude is North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83); NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum 

of 1988; BH, horehole; PVC, polyvinyl chloride; —, not applicable; ?, unknown, not observed during camera logging]

USGS site number

Station name

and

aquifer section

tapped 

Latitude Longitude Land-surface

altitude

(feet above

NAVD 88)

Well depth

(feet below

land surface)

Casing 

material

(decimal degrees) 

335216082173601 BH33 (Regolith) 33.87122375 –82.29349583 469.18 161 PVC 

335216082173602 BH34 (Regolith) 33.87122248 –82.29349842 468.71 96 PVC 

335224082174301 BH49 (Regolith) 33.87324912 –82.29538085 486.25 70 PVC 

335224082174302 BH50 (Regolith) 33.8732842 –82.29538039 487.16 142 PVC 

335224082174303 BH51 (Regolith) 33.87321735 –82.29538297 485.99 192 PVC 

335236082174401 BH55 (Regolith) 33.8767932 –82.29582214 408.34 36 PVC 

335240082173801 BH56 (Regolith) 33.8777949 –82.2938855 419.43 26 PVC 

335232082174901 BH65 (Regolith) 33.875475 –82.296856 422.19 89 Steel1 

335226082173701 BH66 (Regolith) 33.873958 –82.293478 456.33 85 Steel1 

335221082175301 BH67 (Regolith) 33.872628 –82.298169 495.28 146 Steel1 

335224082172101 IR-1 (Bedrock) 33.873367 –82.289067 475 300 Steel 

1

Temporary casing or open-hole diameter installed during drilling activities. 

2

At the time of geophysical logging. Wells later completed as 2-inch PVC screened finishes.
Introduction 7

Table 1. Construction data for wells logged by borehole geophysical equipment at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.—Continued

[Datum for latitude and longitude is North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83); NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; BH, horehole; PVC, 

polyvinyl chloride; —, not applicable; ?, unknown, not observed during camera logging]

Casing 

diameter 

(inches)

Screened

interval

Open-hole 

interval Geophysical

logging date

Water level recorded prior 

to geophysical logging

(depth below land

surface, in feet)

Remarks USGS site number

(depth below land surface, 

in feet)

2 150.6 –160.6 — October 11, 2012 41.11 — 335216082173601

2 ? — October 11, 2012 40.79 Casing pinched

at bottom; no 

screen observed

335216082173602

2 60.9–69.9 — October 11, 2012 47.06 — 335224082174301

2 132.7–141.7 — October 11, 2012 47.47 — 335224082174302

2 ? — October 11, 2012 46.28 No screen observed 335224082174303

4 — — October 18, 2012 21.39 — 335236082174401

4 — — October 18, 2012 17.03 — 335240082173801

1

6 —

2 57– 90 October 18, 2012 — — 335232082174901

1

6 — 2 51.5–87 October 16, 2012 — — 335226082173701

1

6 — 2 37.5–147 October 17, 2012 — — 335221082175301

6 — 28–300 October 9, 2012 25.94 — 335224082172101

borehole geophysical logs were collected to delineate areas of 

elevated electrically conductive materials above and below the 

water table in the regolith and bedrock that may be associated 

with past mining operations or natural conditions within the 

ore rock.

Surface geophysical surveys were conducted across the 

site to delineate areas of elevated conductivity in areas where 

subsurface information was lacking and to delineate zones of 

groundwater discharge to the unnamed northern tributary to 

Hawe Creek (fig. 6). During December 2012, surface electrical 

conductivity surveys were used to delineate areas across the 

site where the presence of conductive material in unsaturated 

zone materials or below the water table was not known or the 

outer boundaries of the elevated conductivity were not known. 

A fiber-optic distributed temperature survey was conducted 

in the unnamed northern tributary from late February to 

early March 2013, for a period of about 7 days, to identify 

potential groundwater discharge reaches of the unnamed 

northern tributary.
8 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Unnamed tributary

BH55

BH65

BH26

BH27

BH28

BH29

BH66

BH49 IR-1

BH32

BH42

BH58

BH43

BH41

BH35

BH36

BH67

BH47

BH54

BH60 BH59 BH37

BH44

BH53

BH48

BH56

BH46

BH45

BH40

BH39

BH38

BH34

BH33

BH51

BH50

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection

Former operational areas

Existing

Open-borehole geophysical logging

Water-quality profiling

Electromagnetic-induction logging/water-quality profiling

Note: Wells BH65, BH66, and BH67 were drilled as part

of this study by EPA contractors

Well type and identifier

EXPLANATION

Study area

IR-1

BH53

BH55

BH33

Figure 5. Wells logged using borehole geophysical methods at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

Figure 5. Wells logged using borehole geophysical methods at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
Introduction 9

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Figure 6. Location of the GEM-2 (electromagnetic) and fiber-optic distributed temperature-sensing surveys at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina. 

EXPLANATION

Study area

Former operational area

Fiber-optics distributed temperature-sensing survey line

GEM-2 electromagnetic conductivity survey line

GEM-2 electromagnetic conductivity survey area 

 (grid) and identifier

Grid 1

Rainsford

Pit

Grid 2

Grid 3

Grid 3

Unnamed tributary

Main

Pit

lake

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection

Figure 6. Location of the GEM-2 (electromagnetic) and fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing surveys at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Study Area

The EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund 

site is located in McCormick County and is approximately 

3 mi south of McCormick, South Carolina (fig. 1). The site 

is located in a relatively remote area, with no homes or 

commercial buildings closer than 0.5 mi of the site (U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 2004). The topography of 

the area consists of rolling hills with land surface altitudes 

ranging from about 360 to 530 feet above the North American 

Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) (fig. 4). The site is located 

along a topographic high that forms the headwaters of two 

unnamed tributaries to Hawe Creek (fig. 2). Clarks Hill Lake, 

a recreational lake created by the J. Strom Thurmond Dam on 

the Savannah River is about 3 mi west of the site (fig. 3).

The EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

includes an area of about 795 acres. The former operational 

area of gold mining, leaching, and processing was about 

135 acres, with a designated buffer area of about 660 acres 

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2011, 2013). To 

extract gold from ore, the facility used a cyanide solution 

in a heap-leach process that required several ponds for 

processing—three rinse ponds, two barren ponds, and two 

pregnant ponds (fig. 2). These ponds currently (2014) contain 

an unknown volume of liquids potentially contaminated with 

inorganics and cyanide. Additionally, the site includes three 

large, multi-acre waste-rock piles (also contaminated with 

cyanide), which have the potential for producing acidic water 

when the waste rocks come into contact with rainfall, surfacewater runoff, and groundwater. Over time, the Main Pit, 

created by the past mining operations, filled in with approximately 60 million gallons of water (Oneida Total Integrated 

Enterprises, 2010). This water had a pH of 2 and high 

dissolved metals concentrations a few years (2003) after the 

mine closed in 1999 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

2004), although treatment processes used the addition of 

sodium hydroxide, which periodically raised the pH to 4 or 5 

(Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2010). 

Stormwater runoff is largely uncontrolled at the site, 

although four National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 

System (NPDES) monitoring sites are located within the 

unnamed tributaries to Hawe Creek (labeled as outfalls on 

fig. 2). Runoff from the site could contain a cyanide-bearing 

solution or acidic water with high dissolved metal content, 

and thus potentially affect nearby wetlands and the unnamed 

tributaries of Hawe Creek that surround the site (U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 2004). 

Geologic Setting

The EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields site is located 

within the southern part of the Carolina Slate Belt, more 

recently referred to as the Carolina terrane (Hibbard and 

others, 2002) in the Piedmont Physiographic Province of 

South Carolina (fig. 1), immediately north of the South 

Carolina-Georgia State line. As described by Clark (1999a, b), 

the geologic setting of the Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

site is within metavolcanic host rocks (stratiform deposits), 

geographically within the Lincolnton-McCormick historic 

mining district. Foley and Ayuso (2012) describe gold 

deposits within the Carolina Slate Belt as ore-hosted within 

quartz-sericite-pyrite-altered volcanic rocks and juvenile 

metasedimentary rocks and in associated shear zones. At the 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields site, associated shear zones are 

described as sheared and deformed auriferous massive sulfide 

deposits. 

Clark (1999a, b) describes the host rocks at the Barite 

Hill/Nevada Goldfields site as sericitically-altered felsic 

metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Late 

Proterozoic Persimmon Fork Formation. The geologic history 

of the site consists of at least six stages (Clark, 1999a, b): 

(1) submarine volcanism/hydrothermal fluid migration/

seafloor exhalation; (2) later hydrothermal activity within a 

failed massive sulfide system or epithermal event; (3) green 

schist facies metamorphism, folding, and thrust faulting; 

(4) late- to post-tectonic remobilization of quartz, barite, 

and gold; (5) high-angle faulting; and (6) deep weathering/

oxidation. The geologic map presented by Clark (1999a, b) 

describes the Persimmon Fork Formation as primarily felsicvitric and vitric-crystal metatuff, including lithic and lithiclapilli tuff, agglomerate, welded tuff, and mafic tuff, as well as 

the felsic pyroclastic sequence (Carpenter, 1976). 

The upper and lower mapped pyroclastic units within 

the Persimmon Fork Formation at the site are differentiated 

in the geologic map and block diagrams of the Main Pit and 

Rainsford Pit areas (Clark, 1999a, b). The upper pyroclastic 

unit consists of metadacite porphyry, such as weakly foliated, 

altered volcanic rock, and metavolcanic/metasedimentary 

rocks that are thin-bedded to finely laminated, composed 

of varying grain size, chlorite and alteration minerals, such 

as talc, tremolite, and actinolite. Regional bedding trends 

about N. 30°–50° E., dipping 52°–85° to the northwest or 

southeast (Clark, 1999a). The lower pyroclastic unit contains 

submassive sulfide or gossan, siliceous barite-rich rock, 

metasedimentary rock (chloritic, finely laminated), metakeratophyre, and felsic metavolcanic rock (well foliated, 

metapyroclastic, altered, and mineralized). Northwest-trending 

normal faults also were mapped within the Main Pit area. 
Introduction 11

In 2008, the EPA Superfund Technical Assessment and 

Response Team (START) conducted a geologic assessment of 

the Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields site. Rock units cropping 

out along the Main Pit wall and the northern tributary were 

described as a tan to light-orange, well-foliated felsic metavolcanic unit and a greenish-gray, thinly bedded, interlayered 

metavolcanic and metasedimentary unit (U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Superfund Technical Assessment and 

Response Team, 2008). Both units (felsic metavolcanic and 

interlayered metavolcanic/metasedimentary units) were 

described as competent rock, which means the rock is more 

resistant to weathering than other rock units. The dominant 

fracture sets measured were 40–60° and 310–330° azimuths. 

The mean fracture set measured for the felsic metavolcanic 

unit was 45° and 325°. The mean fracture set strike azimuth 

measured for the interlayered metavolcanic and metasedimentary unit was 52° and 313°. 

Surface Water

McCormick County Water and Sewer supplies the 

majority of the population within a 4-mi radius of the study 

site with water from J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir, which 

is slightly upstream of the Hawe Creek discharge point 

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004). Sections of 

Hawe Creek that flow into Strom Thurmond Reservoir (Clarks 

Hill Lake) are accessible for recreational activities such as 

fishing and swimming. Surface-water-quality and sediment 

samples have been collected at the site since the two original 

outfalls were permitted (NPDES Outfalls 1 and 2; fig. 2). 

Known groundwater seeps in the unnamed northern tributary 

near the Main Pit area at the Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

site also have been sampled. Macroinvertebrate studies were 

conducted from 1992 to 1998 on a biannual basis in surfacewater bodies at the site as a requirement of the NPDES 

permits. Elevated concentrations of metals discharging to 

the Outfall 1 receiving stream resulted in a reduction of 

habitat (including fish) downstream in the tributary to near its 

confluence with Hawe Creek (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 2004). Elevated concentrations of barium, copper, 

lead, selenium, and zinc that exceeded State of South Carolina 

and (or) EPA freshwater–surface-water chronic screening 

criteria for hazardous waste sites were detected in surfacewater samples from the tributaries to Hawe Creek in March 

2007 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 

Science and Ecosystem Division, 2013). Stream habitat 

surveys conducted in March 2007 indicated that groundwater 

seeps have a major effect, reducing biodiversity almost to the 

point of extinction (Lockheed Martin Technology Services, 

2007). Surface-water-quality samples continue to be collected 

by EPA personnel and their consultants from the Main Pit lake 

and surrounding tributaries. 

Groundwater

The aquifer system at the study site is complex, as is 

common in the Piedmont Physiographic Province of the southeastern United States. The complexity of the aquifer system 

is related to the fact that the rocks have undergone multiple 

periods of structural deformation, metamorphism, and igneous 

intrusion. The deep bedrock component has little primary 

porosity, and groundwater flow is controlled by secondary 

fractures and other complex discontinuities, such as differential weathering along lithologic contacts (Chapman and 

others, 2005). In some areas, a transition zone may be present, 

consisting of a partially weathered, more intensely fractured 

zone near the top of bedrock. Private groundwater-supply 

wells in the area are completed in the bedrock part of the 

aquifer. The shallow regolith is the primary storage reservoir 

and is the source of recharge to the deeper bedrock fractures 

(Heath, 1980). 

At the Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields site, at least three 

zones of groundwater have been identified and characterized: 

(1) a shallow, upper zone of saprolite, which is described as 

degraded, but retaining bedrock-like structures and fractures, 

and colluvial soils (regolith) with some relic structures and 

fractures; (2) an intermediate zone within the upper fracture system of the saprolite (likely the transition zone); and 

(3) deep competent bedrock (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 2004). The three zones are reported to be hydraulically connected, exhibiting no isolated or perched watertable conditions. The mean hydraulic conductivity within 

the shallow upper zone of saprolite was reported to be about 

0.05 foot per day (ft/d), with the hydraulic conductivity of the 

uppermost section of colluvial clay reported to be as much 

as one or two orders of magnitude lower. Within the intermediate zone, the weathered rock retains some structure and is 

reported to have a mean hydraulic conductivity of 0.18 ft/d. 

The deep, lowermost competent bedrock zone is reported 

to have hydraulic conductivities of 0.019 ft/d and 0.09 ft/d 

(estimated from two wells). Vertical gradients were reported to 

be downward from the saprolite zone to the intermediate zone 

and upward from the deep bedrock zone to the intermediate 

zone (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004).
12 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Methods

Borehole geophysical logs and surface geophysical 

surveys were used in this study to characterize subsurface 

electrical conductivity, characterize the fractured bedrock, 

and identify areas of groundwater discharge in the northern 

unnamed tributary at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site. Borehole geophysical logs and groundwaterquality profiles were collected in 11 wells at the site from 

October through November 2012 (fig. 5; table 1). Surface 

electrical conductivity surveys were conducted at selected 

locations (fig. 6) across the site in December 2012. Fiberoptic distributed temperature-sensing (DTS) surveys recorded 

continuous water temperature along the fiber and air temperature from February 28 to March 4, 2013, in a section of the 

northern unnamed tributary near the Main Pit area. 

Borehole Geophysical Logs

Borehole geophysical logs collected in selected wells at 

the site as part of this study included 

• Downhole water-quality properties (temperature, 

pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen) 

were measured in vertical profiles of seven wells 

and during heat-pulse flowmeter stress testing in 

one well (fig. 5; table 2); 

• Electromagnetic-induction and natural gamma logs 

in the five shallow screened wells (BH33, BH34, 

BH49, BH50, and BH51); 

• Caliper, electrical resistivity, natural gamma, fluid 

temperature, and resistivity in the four open-hole 

bedrock wells (existing well IR-1 and newly drilled 

wells BH65, BH66, and BH67); 

• Optical televiewer (OTV) or acoustic televiewer 

(ATV) logs in the four open-hole bedrock wells 

(existing well IR-1 and newly drilled wells BH65, 

BH66, and BH67; note, well BH65 had cloudy water 

after drilling activities); 

• Heat-pulse flowmeter (both ambient and stressed) 

in one existing bedrock well (well IR-1); and 

Well depths where borehole geophysical logs and (or) waterquality profiles were collected ranged from about 26 to 300 ft 

below land surface (table 1). Traditional camera logs also were 

collected in the five accessible screened wells (wells BH33, 

BH34, BH49, BH50, and BH51) to check well integrity, 

including depths of casing and screened intervals and the presence of sediment infilling (appendix 1). Borehole geophysical 

logging field notes, which include field calibration checks, 

are included in appendix 1. Downhole camera well inspection 

logging notes for five wells are listed in appendix 2. Rinse 

samples from borehole logging tools were collected prior to 

geophysical logging, between the logging of selected wells, 

and subsequent to the completion of logging. These rinse 

samples were analyzed for major ions and metals to ensure 

that cross contamination did not occur from well to well as 

part of the geophysical logging process (appendix 3). 

Geophysical logging was used to characterize 

(1) shallow, electrically conductive zones in the regolith and 

bedrock and (2) fractures (including other structures) in the 

bedrock. The electromagnetic (EM) induction logging tool 

can log through polyvinyl chloride (PVC) well casings and 

screens to a radial distance of about 4 ft surrounding the well 

(Century Geophysical Corporation, 2014). In the unsaturated 

zone above the water table, electrically conductive zones 

potentially represent native conductive geologic materials, 

such as ore deposits. Conductive materials below the water 

table may represent zones of conductive ore material and (or) 

groundwater that has elevated specific conductance related to 

elevated dissolved ions and metals. Fracture zones and other 

structural characteristics delineated in the four bedrock wells 

logged as part of this study include depth, degree of relative openness (open, partially open, or weathered only), and 

orientation (strike azimuth and dip angle). Depth to fracture 

zones within individual open boreholes was determined from 

traditional caliper, electrical resistivity, and fluid resistivity/

temperature logs. Natural gamma logs also were collected for 

lithologic characterization and correlation. OTV or ATV image 

logs were collected to determine degree of relative fracture 

openness and orientation. Heat-pulse flowmeter logging was 

conducted in one open-borehole bedrock well to measure 

vertical flow near each delineated fracture zone relative to 

logging performed during the drilling of the well. 

Continuous, oriented digital color images of the bedrock 

in the subsurface were recorded from OTV image logs. 

These logs were oriented by using a magnetometer built 

into the borehole tool, and thus, the orientation of features 

such as fractures, foliation (bedrock fabric), and lithologic 

contacts can be determined by using adjustments for local 

magnetic declination. Where the water in the well was too 

cloudy, an ATV tool was used to image the fractures and 

determine orientations.

Orientations of subsurface fractures (both open and 

sealed), foliation, and lithologic contacts were determined 

from the OTV and ATV image logs for three bedrock wells 

using WellCad software (Advanced Logic Technology, 

2011). Fracture orientations were determined from OTV and 

ATV images, which were corrected for magnetic declination 

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2015) and 

borehole deviation. Additionally, the optical televiewer image 

can be used to characterize rock type, orientation of foliation/

bedding, and geologic texture. Orientations interpreted from the 

OTV image logs were adjusted for a local magnetic declination 

of 6° west and for measured borehole deviation. Subsurface 

geologic features were compiled for statistical analyses using 

rose diagrams and three-dimensional display of fracture 

planes at depth. The fracture orientation data were compared 

to surface geologic mapping data to build a conceptual model 

of flow in the bedrock part of the aquifer at the study site.
Methods 13

Fracture zones were selected for heat-pulse flowmeter 

logging (that is, stationary measurements of vertical borehole 

flow above and below the fracture zone) based on interpretations from caliper, electrical resistivity, and fluid (temperature and specific conductance) logs, and OTV/ATV image 

logs and interpretations. Results from ambient (natural flow) 

and stressed (pumped flow) measurements from heat-pulse 

flowmeter logs were modeled for aquifer properties (hydraulic 

head differences, transmissivity, and radius of influence) 

by using the recently published USGS Flow-Log Analysis 

of Single Holes (FLASH) program (Day-Lewis and others, 

2011; U.S. Geological Survey, 2014). Positive heat-pulse flow 

measurements indicated upward flow, and negative heat-pulse 

flow measurements indicated downward flow. In the one 

bedrock well where the heat-pulse flowmeter tool was used, 

modeled hydraulic characteristics (head and transmissivity) 

were estimated from flow measurements by using the FLASH 

model (Day-Lewis and others, 2011). 

Surface Electromagnetic Conductivity Surveys

The surface EM conductivity surveys at the EPA Barite 

Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site were conducted 

during December 2012 in areas of known elevated electrical 

conductivity near the Main Pit (fig. 6) and in areas where 

elevated constituent concentrations in groundwater may 

have migrated, such as west of the former Rainsford Pit area 

and in the western part of the site. The surface EM conductivity surveys were conducted by using a portable GEM-2 

digital, multi-frequency electromagnetic sensor that recorded 

continuous walk-along profiles (horizontal instrument orientation) at selected locations. The GEM-2 sensor transmits an 

EM wave at seven combined frequencies ranging between 

about 330 and 48,000 hertz (Hz) (Geophex, Ltd., 2004) and 

induces a secondary magnetic field in the Earth. The instrument measures in-phase and quadrature data, which can later 

be converted to magnetic susceptibility and electrical conductivity, respectively. The instrument is portable, weighs about 

9 pounds, is about 5 ft long, and has transmit and receive coils 

separated by a fixed offset distance within the same plane. 

The depth of investigation of the GEM-2 is related to the 

EM waveform skin depth, which is a function of the Earth’s 

electrical conductivity, magnetic permeability, and the angular 

frequency of the EM plane wave propagating through the 

subsurface as described in equation 1 (Huang, 2005):

δ

σμω = 2 , (1)

where

	 σ is electrical conductivity of Earth material;

μ is magnetic permeability of free space 

(vacuum); and

	 ω is angular frequency.

At low frequencies, the waveform produced by the 

GEM-2 penetrates relatively deep into the Earth, compared 

to the higher frequencies (Geophex, Ltd., 2004). Surface EM 

induction surveys measure a bulk conductivity of the subsurface that extends from the land surface to a maximum depth 

of investigation that is a fraction of the skin depth, which is 

the total depth of penetration of the EM wave. 

The GEM-2 EM surveys were collected by using the 

frequency-domain method in which variable frequencies 

and, therefore, variable depths of penetration are achieved 

in either predefined survey grid areas or along profile lines. 

The frequencies used were one of two preconfigured sets—

Table 2. Physical properties and constituents of groundwater measured during well water-quality profiling during 

December 2012 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, 

South Carolina.

[μS/cm, microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius; °C, degrees Celsius; ?, unknown, no observation during camera logging; na, camera 

logging could not be conducted. Note: Values are average representations of vertical profile data]

Station name

and

aquifer section

tapped 

Logged

depth

Screened or

open interval pH

Specific

conductance

(μS/cm)

Dissolved

oxygen

(mg/L)

Temperature

 (°C) (feet below land surface)

BH33 (Regolith) 161 150.6–160.6 7.9 390 0.6 17.3

BH34 (Regolith) 96 ? 7.6 571 0.2 17.0

BH49 (Regolith) 69.9 60.9–69.9 5.1 48 4.0 18.0

BH50 (Regolith) 141.7 132.7–141.7 9.2 170 0.2 17.7

BH51 (Regolith) 192 ? 9.1 156 0.3 17.7

BH55 (Regolith) 35.72 na 3.8 3,410 0.2 17.3

BH56 (Regolith) 25.75 na 3.1 5,300 0.2 17.3

IR-1 (Bedrock) 300 28 –300 6.7 315 4.4 18.0
14 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

high and low—that contained seven frequencies each. The 

high frequency set ranged from 1,530 to 93,090 Hz, and 

the low frequency set ranged from 1,530 to 47,970 Hz. The 

frequency set used in the field in a particular survey area 

was dependent upon observed return signal strength and 

consistency. Data were collected during the survey by using 

WinGEM2 software on a handheld Trimble personal digital 

assistant. Surveys were performed by carrying the GEM-2 at 

about 1 meter (m) (3.28 ft) above land surface and walking at 

a regular pace of about 2.8 miles per hour (mi/h) (4.5 kilometers per hour [km/h]). The GEM-2 was equipped with a global 

positioning system (GPS) that allowed simultaneous time 

and positioning data to be collected and stored along with the 

data. Closed-canopy conditions in some areas (particularly in 

Grids 1 and 3, fig. 6) restricted the collection of location data, 

and limited GPS reception required spatial interpolation along 

sections of the grid layout. Surface EM conductivity survey 

data collected without GPS were not used in this report. The 

GEM-2 profile-line data were collected typically in open fields 

or along existing open paths or roads—along benches (topographically raised areas) west of the former Rainsford Pit area, 

along an old road on the west side of the site, along drainage 

areas and old logging roads near Grid 1, along the banks of 

a section of the northern unnamed tributary to Hawe Creek, 

and along the northern rim of the Main Pit lake. A few survey 

locations (Grids 1 and 3) were fairly wooded with no paths or 

roads. For these areas, dead-reckoning location methods were 

used to collect data along straight profile lines, and deviations were made only to avoid trees. In addition, a profile was 

collected within a selected stretch of the northern unnamed 

tributary near the Main Pit lake. Specific conductance and pH 

measurements also were recorded during the survey of the 

unnamed northern tributary. 

Post-processing of the EM survey data was performed to 

remove noise and transient spikes in the data. Post-processing 

consisted of “despiking” the data by removing anomalies with 

short temporal and (or) spatial extents and applying a moving 

median filter by using Microsoft Excel. Surface EM survey 

data are presented in this report as electrical conductivity readings in units of millisiemens per meter.

Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature 

Sensing Survey

Areas of groundwater discharge at the groundwater/

surface-water interface generally are not readily discernible and 

often require measurement of a tracer or surrogate that differentiates between groundwater and surface water. Temperature 

has been shown to be an excellent tracer of groundwater 

movement along aquifer/surface-water interfaces near streams 

(Stonestrom and Constantz, 2003). Natural variations in stream 

water temperature patterns can be used to assess the interaction of surface water with shallow groundwater. The temperatures of surface-water bodies are variable and change daily 

in response to seasonal and meteorological changes, whereas 

groundwater temperatures are relatively stable year round. 

During the winter, groundwater discharge into surface water 

can be recognized as a warm thermal signature. During this 

study, methods were used that are intended to ensure measurement of differences in temperature and qualitative identification 

of areas of groundwater discharge, but these methods cannot 

be used to distinguish between no-flow and losing reaches. 

Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) can 

be used to determine differences in the temperature of surface 

water along a profile. This relatively new technology is well 

suited for monitoring groundwater/surface-water interactions. With DTS, surface-water temperatures are measured 

for several days along a fiber-optic cable that may extend a 

mile or more with a spatial resolution of less than 1 m (1 ft). 

Temperature precisions of 0.1 degree Celsius (°C) and a 

temporal resolution of 90 seconds can be obtained (Selker and 

others, 2006). The differences in measured temperatures can 

often reveal locations of groundwater discharge.

From February 26 to March 7, 2013, a fiber-optic DTS 

survey was completed by using a Sensornet ORYX DTS to 

delineate areas of groundwater discharge along the northern 

unnamed tributary to Hawe Creek. About 725 m (2,400 ft) of 

fiber-optic cable were deployed in the bed of the stream channel 

in the tributary, which forms the northern hydrologic boundary 

of the site (fig. 6). GPS location measurements were collected 

every 5 m (about 16 ft) along the cable during deployment. 

Unfortunately, at 2:00 a.m. on the first night of data collection 

(February 27, 2013), the cable was severed, presumably by 

wildlife, which resulted in a loss of about 25 m (about 82 ft) 

of deployed cable and 2 days of data collection. The cable was 

repaired at the site by USGS personnel, and hence, the temperature data collection reported here began on February 28, 2013. 

Temperature data obtained by using the ORYX DTS 

and analyzed for this study were collected beginning at 

5:04 p.m. on February 28, 2013, and ending at 8:04 p.m. on 

March 7, 2013. Data were recorded every 1.5 minutes (min) at 

intervals of about 1 m (3.28 ft) along the length of the fiberoptic cable. Ten consecutive temporal measurements made 

by the DTS over a 15-minute period were averaged to obtain 

1 temperature measurement, for a total of 684 measurements 

collected over about 7 days. Analysis of the thermal data after 

field deployment and retrieval of the fiber-optic cable was 

conducted by using the DTS graphical user interface (GUI) 

beta program, currently under development by the USGS 

(Martin Briggs, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 

2013). The DTS GUI is a Python-based software package that 

provides tools to import and visualize DTS data superimposed 

on maps or satellite imagery. The user can also calculate 

and plot summary statistics of temperature time series and 

profiles. Air temperature also was measured with an independent thermometer. On February 13, 2013, a surface-water 

discharge measurement was made near the downstream end of 

the survey line using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter and the 

mid-point method (Turnipseed and Sauer, 2010). 
Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data 15

Borehole Geophysical Logging and 

Imaging Data

During October 2012, borehole geophysical logs were 

collected from five shallow screened wells and four openborehole bedrock wells (three newly drilled [BH65, BH66, 

and BH67] and one existing [IR-1]) at the EPA Barite Hill/

Nevada Goldfields Superfund site (fig. 5). Groundwaterquality profiles were collected in seven wells. These data were 

collected to assist the EPA with the delineation of electrically 

conductive material (native geologic materials, mine waste 

rock, and groundwater having elevated dissolved solids and 

metals) within the regolith both above and below the water 

table and with the characterization of secondary fracture 

orientations and other structural features within the bedrock. 

The casing depths (depths to the top of the open-hole interval) 

for wells selected for borehole geophysical logging at the 

site indicate that the inferred regolith thickness ranges from 

about 28 to 57 ft (table 1). Groundwater levels measured in all 

11 wells during geophysical logging and water-quality profile 

logging in October 2012 ranged from 17.03 to 47.47 ft below 

land surface. 

Delineation of Shallow Conductivity from 

Electromagnetic-Induction Logs

Downhole EM-induction tools respond to the presence 

of conductive contaminants and sample the material in a 4-ft 

radius surrounding the open borehole or PVC-cased well. 

Electromagnetic-induction logs were collected in five selected 

wells—BH33, BH34, BH49, BH50, and BH51—during 

October 2012 (appendix 4). Natural gamma logs also were 

collected by using the same borehole geophysical tool. Wells 

BH49, BH50, and BH51 are located about 650 ft south of the 

Main Pit lake, and wells BH33 and BH34 are located about 

1,300 ft south of the Main Pit lake (fig. 5).

The EM-induction logs for wells BH33 and BH34 indicate that high conductivity material is present to a depth of 

about 72 ft below land surface (fig. 7). The EM-induction log 

for well BH51 indicates high conductivity material to a depth 

of about 110 ft below land surface (fig. 8). These depths likely 

correspond to areas of low resistivity values (high conductivity material) delineated in the southwestern end of the 

resistivity sounding surveyed east of the Main Pit lake by GEL 

Geophysics, LLC (2012). The conductive zones within the 

wells generally were delineated as having elevated electrical 

conductivity (about 1,300 to greater than 6,000 millisiemens 

per meter [mS/m]) above and below the water table and higher 

specific conductance and lower pH values for the water in the 

well (figs. 7 and 8; appendix 4). (Note: millisiemens per meter 

borehole electrical conductivity units are equivalent to the 

surface electrical conductivity units of millimhos per meter.)

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Electrical conductivity, in millimhos per meter

0

SOUTHWEST NORTHEAST

7,000 0 7,000

Depth, in feet (ft) below land surface (bls)

0 BH34 BH33

Figure 7. Electrical conductivity logs of regolith 

wells BH33 and BH34, showing a shallow area of 

high conductivity from land surface to about 72 feet 

and at depth within the screened interval for well BH33, 

October 2012, at the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

near McCormick, South Carolina.

Water level 40.79 ft bls Water level 41.11 ft bls

160

Screened interval

Screened interval

not observed 

during camera logging

Casing pinched at

about 96 ft bls

Readings near or below zero millimhos per meterReadings near or below zero millimhos per meter

Conductive host

rock above the

water table 

Conductive host

rock above the

water table 

Figure 7. Electrical conductivity logs of regolith 

wells BH33 and BH34 showing a shallow area of high 

conductivity from land surface to about 72 feet and 

at depth within the screened interval for well BH33, 

October 2012, at the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

near McCormick, South Carolina. 
16 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

0 7,000 0 7,000

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

0 BH51 BH49

0 7,000

BH50

Figure 8. Electrical conductivity logs of regolith wells BH51, BH50, and BH49, showing a shallow

area of high conductivity from land surface to about 110 feet in wells BH51 and BH50 and at

depth within the screened interval for all three wells, October 2012, at the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Total depth about 192 ft bls

Water level 46.28 ft bls Water level 47.47 ft bls Water level 47.06 ft bls

Electrical conductivity, in millimhos per meter

Depth, in feet (ft) below land surface (bls)

Screened interval

Screened interval

Screened interval

not observed 

during camera logging

Readings near or below zero millimhos per meter

Readings near or below zero millimhos per meter

Readings near or below zero millimhos per meter

Conductive host 

rock above the

water table 

Conductive host 

rock above the

water table 

SOUTH NORTH

Figure 8. Electrical conductivity logs of regolith wells BH51, BH50, and BH49 showing a 

shallow area of high conductivity from land surface to about 110 feet in wells BH51 and 

BH50 and at depth within the screened interval for all three wells, October 2012, at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near 

McCormick, South Carolina.
Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data 17

The deep part of the EM induction log (figs. 7 and 8, 

wells BH33, BH34, BH50, and BH51) appears to reflect a 

sharp decrease in electrical conductivity that is most likely 

explained by a change in geologic materials, such as a reduction in the presence of conductive ore materials, or a reduction in porosity below the saturated zone (water table) in 

the transition zone or bedrock. The lower conductivity zone 

shown in figures 7 and 8 likely corresponds to the 100- to 

200-ohmmeter “green” zone or deeper yellow and red zones 

delineated on the resistivity surveys conducted east of the 

Main Pit lake by GEL Geophysics LLC (2012). If this contrast 

in geologic materials is related to a porosity and permeability reduction in the transition zone or bedrock, it may be 

an important factor in controlling downward migration of 

elevated dissolved ions and metals in the groundwater system 

at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site. 

A comparison of water-quality profile data and properties recorded as part of this study in seven screened wells 

(BH33, BH34, BH 49, BH 50, BH 51, BH 55, and BH 56) and 

in open-hole bedrock well IR-1 indicates much higher specific 

conductance values (3,410 and 5,300 μS/cm, respectively) 

and much lower pH values (3.8 and 3.1, respectively) for 

wells BH55 and BH56 than for the other five wells (table 2; 

fig. 5; appendix 4). The higher specific conductance and lower 

pH measurements are the results of elevated concentrations 

of conductive dissolved ions and metals in groundwater at 

the site. Wells BH55 and BH56 are between the Main Pit lake 

and the northern unnamed tributary. Conceptually, these wells 

may intercept high conductivity/low pH groundwater leaking 

from the Main Pit area along a flow path discharging to the 

northern unnamed tributary (fig. 5). Results from well sampling 

conducted by EPA, Region 4, Science and Ecosystem Support 

Division (Athens, Ga.) during December 2012 also indicated 

that wells BH55 and BH56 had the highest specific conductance 

readings, the lowest pH readings, and the highest concentrations 

of major ions (calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, 

and sulfate) and inorganics (aluminum, cadmium, copper, 

iron, manganese, nickel, and zinc) of the five wells where 

EM-induction logs were collected or where groundwaterquality profiles were recorded (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Region 4 Science and Ecosystem Division, 2013). 

A variable range of water-quality properties was recorded 

in the seven screened wells: pH ranged from 3.1 to 9.2; specific 

conductance from 48 to 5,300 μS/cm; dissolved oxygen from 

0.2 to 4.4 milligrams per liter (mg/L); and temperature from 

17.0 to 18.0 °C (table 2). Well BH49 had anomalously low 

specific conductance values and high dissolved oxygen concentrations, suggesting enhanced recharge from precipitation as 

a result of either being shallow in the groundwater system or 

having potential well casing leakage over time. Wells BH33 

and BH34 have elevated pH values, which could be a result 

of sodium hydroxide, which was used to treat the Main Pit 

lake water, leaking into the groundwater system. Bedrock well 

IR-1 had elevated dissolved oxygen concentrations, indicating 

a connection of deeper fractures to shallow groundwater 

recharge; no well casing leakage was detected during the 

ambient heat-pulse flowmeter logging. These data suggest a 

wide range of geochemical conditions within the groundwater 

system at the site. 

Characterization of Bedrock Fractures and 

Foliation from Borehole Geophysical Logs

Open-hole borehole geophysical logs were collected 

in bedrock wells IR-1, BH65, BH66, and BH67 during 

October 2012 at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site (figs. 9–12). Fracture zones are indicated 

by caliper “breakouts” or open-borehole enlargements and 

lower resistivity zones. Inflow from fracture zones was noted 

where inflections occur in fluid resistivity (calculated specific 

conductance) and temperature logs, such as near 150 ft in 

well IR-1 (fig. 9). 

OTV or ATV images were used to determine orientations of secondary fractures and other planar features in three 

bedrock wells at the site during October 2012 (appendix 5). 

Additionally, the OTV images can be used to characterize rock 

type, orientation of foliation/bedding, and geologic texture. 

Figures 13A–E show examples of typical images of the 

bedrock foliation and fractures. Fractures were characterized 

as either primary (open), secondary (partially open or weathered), or sealed, as shown in appendix 5. Typical cross-cutting 

(against foliation) secondary fractures can be seen in well IR-1 

(fig. 13A). Increased fracture density near the top of bedrock, 

which may be considered the transition zone in well IR-1, 

can be seen in figure 13B. Filled cross-cutting mineral veins 

or fractures in well IR-1 can be seen in figure 13C. A primary 

fracture is present at about 85.5 ft below land surface in well 

BH67, with other secondary fractures at depth (fig. 13D). 

Primary fractures are visible in the OTV image of well BH66 

shown in figure 13E and are confirmed by an increase in borehole diameter on the caliper log.
18 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

260

280

0

300

Flowmeter (stressed)

(gallons per minute)

–0.7 0.7

Flowmeter (ambient) 

(gallons per minute)

–0.03 0.03

59%

23%

14%

4%

Temperature

(degrees Fahrenheit)

65 70

Delta temperature

–0.1 0.1

Casing depth=28 feet

Specific conductance

(microsiemens per

centimeter) (ambient)

275 350

Casing depth=28 feet

Spontaneous potential

(millivolts)

–300 400

Res (16N) (ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Res (64N) (ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Resistance (ohms)

0 4,000

Lateral res (48-inch)

(ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Casing depth=28 feet

Gamma log (APIU)

0 200

Caliper (inches)

5 9

Figure 9. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and vertical flow in bedrock well IR-1, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina. Arrows show zones of inflow

and modeled FLASH percentage (Appendix 5). [Note: Electric logs collected under ambient conditions; lithology information was

not available; APIU, American Petroleum Institute units; Res (16N), 16-inch normal resistivity; Res (64N), 64-inch normal resistivity]

Water level 25.94 ft bls

Depth, in feet (ft) below land surface (bls)

Figure 9. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and vertical flow in bedrock well IR-1, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina. Arrows 

show zones of inflow and modeled FLASH percentage (appendix 5). [Note: Electric logs collected under ambient conditions; 

lithology information was not available; APIU, American Petroleum Institute units; Res (16N), 16-inch normal resistivity; 

Res (64N), 64-inch normal resistivity]
Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data 19

Figure 10. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log (Black and Veatch, Inc., 

written commun., 2012) in bedrock well BH65, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields 

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina. [APIU, American Petroleum Institute units; Res, resistivity]

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

Res (16N) (ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Res (64N) (ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Resistance (ohms)

0 4,000

Lateral res (48-inch)

(ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Temperature

(degrees Fahrenheit)

100 110

Delta temperature

–0.2 0.2

Spontaneous

potential

(millivolts)

–400 –100

Specific conductance

(microsiemens

per centimeter)

175 225

No core recovery

in this interval

Lithology

Caliper (inches)

5 8

Gamma log (APIU)

0 100

0

Temporary casing set during drilling; depth=57 feet

Depth, in feet below land surface

Extent of caliper

log as a result of 

borehole collapse

problems

90

EXPLANATION

Mica schist (altered brecciated; Talc (chlorite; pyritic) (brecciated; Residuum (clayey silt) high angle foliation) no definite fabric) schist

Saprolite (quartz-rich, Quartz-sericite schist Greenstone clayey silt) (chaotic, no definite fabric)

Figure 10. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log (Black and Veatch, Inc., written 

commun., 2012) in bedrock well BH65, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund 

site near McCormick, South Carolina. [APIU, American Petroleum Institute Units; Res, resistivity]
20 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 11. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log (Black and Veatch, Inc., written 

commun., 2012) in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

near McCormick, South Carolina. [APIU, American Petroleum Institute units; Res, resistivity]

Caliper (inches)

5 12

Gamma log (APIU)

0 100 Lithology

Res (16N) (ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Res (64N) (ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Resistance (ohms)

0 4,000

Lateral Res (48-inch)

(ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Specific conductance

(microsiemens

per centimeter)

0 300

Temperature

(degrees Fahrenheit)

68 80

Delta temperature

–0.5 0.5 –2,000 1,000

Spontaneous

potential

(millivolts)

0

5

10

15

20

Temporary casing set during drilling; depth=51.5 feet

25

30

Depth, in feet below land surface 35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

EXPLANATION

Residuum Schist (altered biotite; Saprolite (clayey silt) steeply dipping foliation)

Figure 11. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log (Black and Veatch, Inc., written commun.,

2012) in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick,

South Carolina. [APIU, American Petroleum Institute Units; Res, resistivity]
Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data 21

Figure 12. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log (Black and Veatch, Inc., written 

communication, 2012) in bedrock well BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund 

site near McCormick, South Carolina. [APIU, American Petroleum Institute units; Res, resistivity]

Spontaneous

potential

(millivolts)

Temperature

(degrees Fahrenheit)

68 75

Delta temperature

–0.5 0.5

Specific conductance

(microsiemens

per centimeter)

75 125

Res (16N) (ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Res (64N) (ohm-meters)

0 4,000

Resistance (ohms)

0 4,000

Lateral Res (48-inch)

(ohm-meters)

0 4,000

No recovery

Lithology

Gamma log (APIU)

0 100

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

0

Caliper (inches)

6 8

Figure 12. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and lithologic log (Black and Veatch, Inc., written commun.,

2012) in bedrock well BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick,

South Carolina.

EXPLANATION

Saprolite (quartz-rich; pyrite, 

 high-angle foliation

Residuum (clayey silt) Metavolcanic schist Greenstone

 (biotite; pyrite; 

 high-angle foliation) Graystone (sulfides)

Depth, in feet below land surface

Temporary casing set during drilling; depth=37.5 feet

–1,000 1,000
22 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 13. Optical and acoustic televiewer images showing (A) foliation and secondary fractures in bedrock 

well IR-1, (B) fractures within the transition zone in bedrock well IR-1, (C) secondary mineral veins in bedrock 

well IR-1, (D) primary and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH67, and (E ) primary and secondary fractures 

in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near 

McCormick, South Carolina.

A. Well IR-1

B. Well IR-1

C. Well IR-1

56 EXPLANATION

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

55

69

Depth

1:25 ft

Optical televiewer image structures

0° 90° 180° 270° 0°

Caliper,

in inches

5 9

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

34

Depth

1:25 ft

Optical televiewer image structures Caliper,

in inches

169

170

171

172

173

168

Depth

1:10 ft

Optical televiewer image structures Caliper,

in inches

Figure 13. Optical and acoustic televiewer images showing (A) foliation and secondary fractures in bedrock

well IR-1, (B) fractures within the transition zone in bedrock well IR-1, (C) secondary mineral veins in bedrock

well IR-1, (D) primary and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH67, and (E) primary and secondary fractures 

in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near

McCormick, South Carolina.

Foliation

Weathered, secondary fractures

Secondary mineral veins

Lithologic contact

0° 90° 180° 270° 0° 5 9

0° 90° 180° 270° 0° 5 9
Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data 23

Figure 13. Optical and acoustic televiewer images showing (A) foliation and secondary fractures 

in bedrock well IR-1, (B) fractures within the transition zone in bedrock well IR-1, (C) secondary 

mineral veins in bedrock well IR-1, (D) primary and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH67, and 

(E) primary and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.—Continued

Figure 13. Optical and acoustic televiewer images showing (A) foliation and secondary fractures in 

bedrock well IR-1, (B) fractures within the transition zone in bedrock well IR-1, (C) secondary mineral

veins in bedrock well IR-1, (D) primary and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH67, and (E) primary

and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/

Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.—Continued

D. Well BH67

Depth

(feet)

Acoustic televiewer image

0° 90° 180° 0°

Caliper, in inches

6

Structure

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

82

270° 8 0 90

North

South

West East

Example of tadpole

showing dip azimuth

EXPLANATION

Primary fractures

Secondary fractures

Dip angle, in degrees
24 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 13. Optical and acoustic televiewer images showing (A) foliation and secondary fractures in 

bedrock well IR-1, (B) fractures within the transition zone in bedrock well IR-1, (C) secondary mineral

veins in bedrock well IR-1, (D) primary and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH67, and (E) primary

and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/

Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.—Continued

E. Well BH66

E Depth 

(feet)

Caliper, in inches

0° 90° 180° 270° 0° 6 10 0 90

Optical televiewer image Virtual core Structure

Dip angle,

in degrees

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

57

70

North

South

West East

Example of tadpole

showing dip azimuth

EXPLANATION

Primary fractures

Secondary fractures

Figure 13. Optical and acoustic televiewer images showing (A) foliation and secondary fractures in bedrock 

well IR-1, (B) fractures within the transition zone in bedrock well IR-1, (C) secondary mineral veins in bedrock 

well IR-1, (D) primary and secondary fractures in bedrock well BH67, and (E ) primary and secondary fractures 

in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near 

McCormick, South Carolina.—Continued

More than 300 subsurface structural measurements 

(orientations) were interpreted from OTV and ATV images 

collected from bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67. Primary 

and secondary fractures were delineated, and respective 

orientations of the fractures were characterized for all three 

wells (appendix 5). Bedrock well IR-1 was the only well 

of the three with water that was clear enough on the OTV 

image to allow for delineation of foliation or bedrock fabric, 

lithologic contacts, sealed fractures, and other features. Wells 

BH66 and BH67 installed during October 2012 for this study 

by EPA contractors were drilled into partially weathered 

shallow bedrock (or potentially the transition zone) and thus 

had cloudy water. (An image log was not collected in well 

BH65 because of potential wall collapse during logging.) 

Rose diagrams show strike azimuth orientations of all structures delineated in the three bedrock wells (fig. 14). The 

number of measurements delineated per well were as follows: 

276 structural features for well IR-1; 10 structural features 

for well BH66; and 33 structural features for well BH67. 

Structural data from wells IR-1 and BH67 had similar dominant strike azimuth orientations of 210° to 240° and northwest 

dip directions. Dominant strike azimuth orientations measured 

in well BH66 were 160 –170° with a southwest dip direction 

and 260 –270° with a northwest-north dip direction. An aerial 

comparison of the structures delineated in the three bedrock 

wells across the site is shown in figure 15. 
Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data 25

45

90

135

225

270

315

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

45

90

135

225

270

315

0

0 0

45

90

135

180 180

180

225

270

315

EXPLANATION

Rose diagram displaying strike azimuth of all

 structural features in degrees. Length of petal

 corresponds to number of measurements

315

135

0 180

45

225

270 90

Figure 14. Rose diagrams showing strike azimuths of all structural features characterized by using either optical or 

acoustic televiewer images of bedrock wells (A) IR-1, (B) BH66, and (C) BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

A B

C

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

2

4

6

8

10

12

Figure 14. Rose diagrams showing strike azimuths of all structural features characterized by using either 

optical or acoustic televiewer images of bedrock wells (A) IR-1, (B) BH66, and (C) BH67, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina. 
26 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

ACCESS

ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Unnamed tributary

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

BH65

BH66

IR-1

BH67

Figure 15. Areal distribution of structural features delineated in bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina. 

Study area

Former operational area

Well site for open-borehole 

 geophysical logging

 and identifier

EXPLANATION

315

135

0 180

45

225

270 90

Rose diagram displaying 

strike azimuth of all 

structural features in 

degrees. Length of petal 

corresponds to number 

of measurements

2

4

6

8

10

12

IR-1

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection

Figure 15. Areal distribution of structural features delineated in bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data 27

As previously stated, foliation or bedding (rock fabric) 

could only be measured from the OTV image of well IR-1 

(fig. 16 and appendix fig. 5–1). The mean strike azimuth of 

the bedrock foliation data was 222° (N. 42° E.), with strike 

azimuths ranging from 146° to 241°, southwest or northwest 

dip direction, respectively, and the mean dip angle was 78° to 

the northwest, with dip angles ranging from 53° to 85°. The 

mean foliation of N. 42° E. is within the range of regional 

bedding reported by Clark (1999a) of N. 30°–50° E., with dip 

angles ranging from 52° to 85° to the northwest or southeast. 

Rose diagrams of measured primary fractures in the 

three bedrock wells are shown in figure 17, and the areal 

distribution at the site is shown in figure 18. A composite rose 

diagram of strike azimuths of primary fractures measured in 

all three open-borehole bedrock wells is shown in figure 19. 

Dominant fracture strike azimuth orientations were from 

210° to 250° (N. 30° E. to N. 70° E.) with a mean dip of 

68° northwest. This orientation confirms a dominant fracture 

set striking N. 40° E. –N. 60° E. measured by the EPA START 

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Technical 

Assessment and Response Team, 2008).

Ambient and stressed vertical flow were measured in the 

open borehole near fracture zones delineated in bedrock well 

IR-1 by using a heat-pulse flowmeter tool on October 10, 2012 

(figs. 5 and 9). The lower range of flow for this borehole 

geophysical tool is 0.01 gallon per minute (gal/min) in a 

6-inch-diameter borehole, and the upper range is about 

2 gal/min. Slight upflow (0.01–0.02 gal/min at 140 ft, near 

the minimum resolution of the tool) was measured in well 

Figure 16. Rose diagram showing strike azimuths of foliation measured in bedrock well IR-1, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

0

45

135

180

225

270

315

Figure 16. Rose diagram showing strike azimuths of foliation measured in bedrock well IR-1, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

EXPLANATION

Rose diagram displaying strike azimuth of all

 structural features in degrees. Length of petal

 corresponds to number of measurements

315

135

0 180

45

225

270 90

2

4

6

8

10

12

10

20

30

40

50

10

20

30

40

50

IR-1 during the ambient heat-pulse logging (fig. 9). The initial 

drilling report (South Carolina Department of Health and 

Environmental Control, 2008) indicated the presence of two 

fracture zones at depths of 140 and 250 ft. No measureable 

difference was noted at these two depths during the stressed 

heat-pulse logging. Results from the FLASH modeling of 

the heat-pulse flowmeter data are included in appendix 6. 

The model resolved four fracture zones at 38.5, 50, 100, and 

125 ft, primarily based on inflow changes during the stressed 

heat-pulse test. The transmissivity estimate calculated by 

the FLASH model was about 69 feet squared per day (ft2/d), 

and the radius of influence was estimated to be about 640 ft. 

The shallowest fracture zone modeled was at 38.5 ft with a 

59-percent contribution and is potentially part of the transition 

zone because of the greater fracture density observed in the 

OTV image (appendix fig. 5–1). 

A three-dimensional diagram of bedrock structures 

(mostly fractures including foliation and sealed fractures 

in well IR-1) is shown in figure 20. The three-dimensional 

diagram illustrates the potential interconnectivity of fracture 

zones between bedrock wells at the site. Fractures having 

similar dip azimuths and angles are shown as parallel fracture 

images. The distribution of subsurface fractures and their associated three-dimensional orientations likely control the direction of groundwater flow and the transport of any elevated 

dissolved ions and metals related to the former mining operations, depending on the location of source areas and hydraulic 

head distributions between fracture zones.
28 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

45

90

135

225

270

315

Figure 17. Rose diagram showing strike azimuths of primary factures characterized by using either optical or

acoustic televiewer images of bedrock wells (A) IR-1, (B) BH66, and (C) BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

A

45

90

135

225

270

315

0 0 180 180

B

0

45

90

135

180

225

270

315

EXPLANATION

Rose diagram displaying strike azimuth of all

 structural features in degrees. Length of petal

 corresponds to number of measurements

315

135

0 180

45

225

270 90

C

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2

4

6

8

10

12

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Figure 17. Rose diagrams showing strike azimuths of primary factures characterized by using either optical 

or acoustic televiewer images of bedrock wells (A) IR-1, (B) BH66, and (C) BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
Borehole Geophysical Logging and Imaging Data 29

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Unnamed tributary

Study area

Former operational area

Well site for open-borehole 

 geophysical logging

 and identifier

EXPLANATION

315

135

0 180

45

225

270 90

Rose diagram displaying 

strike azimuth of all 

structural features in 

degrees. Length of petal 

corresponds to number 

of measurements

2

4

6

8

10

12

IR-1

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

BH65

BH66

IR-1

BH67

Figure 18. Areal distribution of open (primary) fractures delineated in bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67 at the

 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection

Figure 18. Areal distribution of open (primary) fractures delineated in bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67 

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, 

South Carolina.
30 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

45

90

135

225

270

315

Figure 19. Composite rose diagram showing strike azimuths of all fractures measured in bedrock wells IR-1, BH6

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South 

0180

EXPLANATION

Rose diagram displaying strike azimuth of all

 structural features in degrees. Length of petal

 corresponds to number of measurements

315

135

0 180

45

225

270 90

2

4

6

8

10

12

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

BH67

WEST EAST

BH66

IR-1

Figure 20. Schematic cross-section view of three-dimensional fractures and foliation in bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67

at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina. 

500

400

300

200

Land surface, in feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988

EXPLANATION

Primary fractures—Radius 30 feet

Sealed fractures—Radius 10 feet

Foliation—Radius 10 feet

Secondary fractures—Radius 10 feet

0 100 200 METERS

0 500 1,000 FEET

Figure 20. Schematic cross-section view of three-dimensional fractures and foliation in bedrock wells IR-1, BH66, 

and BH67 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, 

South Carolina. 

Figure 19. Composite rose diagram 

showing strike azimuths of all 

fractures measured in bedrock 

wells IR-1, BH66, and BH67 at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site near 

McCormick, South Carolina.
Surface Geophysical Surveys 31

Surface Geophysical Surveys

Surface geophysical surveys provide areal readings of 

differences in Earth properties. These properties include those 

of the materials, such as regolith and bedrock, and the groundwater contained within those materials. Conductive materials, such as those observed at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site, typically are highly contrasting 

with surrounding materials and native groundwater, and 

electrical geophysical surveys often are used to delineate 

these contrasts from land surface and at depth within Earth 

materials, including groundwater. Temperature measurements 

within surface water can be used to detect differences within 

the water column (distributed temperature sensing), and 

waterborne resistivity methods can be used to sample through 

and below the water column. The surface geophysical methods 

applied at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund 

site as part of this study consisted of surface electromagnetic 

conductivity surveys and fiber-optic DTS surveys.

Delineation of Areas of Elevated Conductivity

Surface electrical conductivity surveys were conducted 

in four areas of the site during December 2012: near the 

northern unnamed tributary to Hawe Creek (Grid 1, fig. 6), 

the Main Pit area (Grid 1 to the west, north rim, and Grid 2 to 

the southeast, fig. 6), the former Rainsford Pit area, and the 

western area of the site. Four common intermediate frequencies recorded during all surveys were, with respect to relative 

depths of signal penetration, 7,970 hertz (Hz) (shallow) and 

33,030 Hz (shallow), 8,250 Hz (intermediate), and 1,530 Hz 

(deep). The results of electrical conductivity surveys from the 

four areas for total electrical conductivity and separate datasets 

per frequency are shown in figures 21–25. High electrical 

conductivity values greater than 90 mS/m above or below the 

water table (fig. 25), are possibly indicative of buried waste 

materials or native unsaturated geologic materials, and low 

conductivity values (less than 10 to near 0 mS/m) are possibly 

indicative of bedrock. 

Interpretation of the electrical conductivity surveys 

indicates that areas of highest electrical conductivity readings tend to be clustered in localized areas and may represent 

elevated conductivity related to natural geologic materials 

and (or) waste materials from the former mining operations. 

For all four electrical conductivity frequencies used in the 

surface investigation, and the corresponding ranges in relative depth penetration, areas north and west of the Main Pit 

lake along the northern unnamed tributary and areas northwest 

of the former Rainsford Pit area appear to have the highest 

readings (greater than about 50 to more than 90 mS/m; figs. 2 

and 21–25). Intermediate conductivity levels (greater than 

20 to about 50 mS/m) were delineated along a section of the 

northern unnamed tributary between areas of previously identified groundwater seeps (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 

2009), north-northwest and southeast of the Main Pit lake, and 

within and southwest and northwest of the former Rainsford 

Pit area/southeast of Waste Disposal Area A (fig. 2). These 

elevated conductivity readings in the area of the Main Pit lake 

may be related to the leakage of high conductivity surfacewater and groundwater flow discharging to specific areas 

along the tributary and southeast of the lake. This conclusion 

is supported by the fact that the areas of elevated conductivity 

along the northern unnamed tributary correspond to known 

seep areas that have been sampled in previous investigations at 

the site (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009). Elevated 

electrical conductivity readings southeast of Waste Disposal 

Area A and northwest of the former Rainsford Pit area may 

indicate the presence of conductive waste rock and (or) the 

migration of elevated dissolved ions and metals in groundwater flowing in that direction, potentially along a flow path. 
32 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 21. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and total 

surface electrical conductivity survey results collected during December 2012 at selected areas across the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Figure 21. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and total surface

electrical conductivity survey results collected during December 2012 at selected areas across the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Seep 3

Seep 2

Seep 1

Seep 0

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

Unnamed tributary

EXPLANATION

Study area

Former operational area

Seep and identifier

Electromagnetic conductivity,

 in millisiemens per meter

0 to 10.0

10.1 to 20.0

20.1 to 30.0

30.1 to 40.0

40.1 to 50.0

50.1 to 60.0

60.1 to 70.0

Seep 1

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection
Surface Geophysical Surveys 33

Figure 22. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and surface 

electrical conductivity survey results when using the shallow 47,970-hertz frequency during December 2012 at 

selected areas across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

near McCormick, South Carolina.

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Figure 22. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and surface electrical

conductivity survey results when using the shallow 47,970-hertz frequency during December 2012 at selected areas

across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick,

South Carolina.

Electromagnetic conductivity at

 47,970 hertz, in millisiemens

 per meter

Seep 3

Seep 2

Seep 1

Seep 0

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

Unnamed tributary

EXPLANATION

Study area

Former operational area

Seep and identifier 0 to 10.0

10.1 to 20.0

20.1 to 30.0

30.1 to 40.0

40.1 to 50.0

50.1 to 60.0

60.1 to 70.0

Seep 1

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection
34 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 23. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and surface 

electrical conductivity survey results when using the shallow 33,030-hertz frequency during December 2012 at 

selected areas across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

near McCormick, South Carolina.

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Figure 23. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and surface electrical

conductivity survey results when using the shallow 33,030-hertz frequency during December 2012 at selected areas

across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick,

South Carolina.

Electromagnetic conductivity at

 33,030 hertz (intermediate depth),

 in millisiemens per meter

Seep 3

Seep 2

Seep 1

Seep 0

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

Unnamed tributary

EXPLANATION

Study area

Former operational area

Seep and identifier Seep 1 0 to 10.0

10.1 to 20.0

20.1 to 30.0

30.1 to 40.0

40.1 to 50.0

50.1 to 60.0

60.1 to 67.7

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection
Surface Geophysical Surveys 35

Figure 24. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and surface 

electrical conductivity survey results when using the intermediate 8,250-hertz frequency during December 2012 

at selected areas across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

near McCormick, South Carolina.

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Figure 24. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and surface electrical

conductivity survey results when using the intermediate 8,250-hertz frequency during December 2012 at selected areas

across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick,

South Carolina.

Electromagnetic conductivity at

 8,250 hertz (intermediate depth),

 in millisiemens per meter

Seep 3

Seep 2

Seep 1

Seep 0

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

Unnamed tributary

EXPLANATION

Study area

Former operational area

Seep and identifier Seep 1 0 to 10.0

10.1 to 20.0

20.1 to 30.0

30.1 to 40.0

40.1 to 50.0

50.1 to 59.9

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection
36 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 25. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and surface 

electrical conductivity survey results when using the deep 1,530-hertz frequency during December 2012 at 

selected areas across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

near McCormick, South Carolina.

ACCESS ROAD

Hawe

Creek

Figure 25. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and surface electrical

conductivity survey results when using the deep 1,530-hertz frequency during December 2012 at selected areas

across the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick,

South Carolina.

Seep 3

Seep 2

Seep 1

Seep 0

0 100 200 300 400 METERS

0 500 1,000 1,500 FEET

Unnamed tributary

EXPLANATION

Study area

Former operational area

Seep and identifier Seep 1

Electromagnetic conductivity at

 1,530 hertz (deeper depth),

 in millisiemens per meter

50.1 to 60.0

60.1 to 70.0

70.1 to 80.0

80.1 to 90.0

90.1 to 92.8

0.1 to 10.0

10.1 to 20.0

20.1 to 30.0

30.1 to 40.0

40.1 to 50.0

82°18'30" 82°18'00" 82°17'30"

33°52'30"

33°52'00"

Base from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Carolina Department 

of Natural Resources 10-foot digital elevation model (produced from lidar 

data), 2012; and USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture image, 2011;

Lambert Conformal Conic projection
Surface Geophysical Surveys 37

Delineation of the four electrical conductivity frequencies 

along their respective profile lines shows that each frequency 

is sensing to different depth levels. For the area southeast of 

the Main Pit, most of the seven frequencies measured along 

the westernmost profile line had similar patterns and ranges 

of data fluctuation, whereas the deeper, lower frequency 

1,530-Hz data exhibited a somewhat different pattern with a 

larger range of fluctuation, which is indicative of low bedrock 

electrical conductivity and high resistivity (fig. 26). These 

patterns and ranges of data are typical responses where high 

electrically conductive material appears to be present in the 

shallow subsurface (unsaturated ore/mine waste material and 

[or] porous regolith groundwater having elevated dissolved 

metals concentrations) and low electrical conductivity material 

(low porosity resistive bedrock) in the deeper subsurface. The 

surface survey conducted along the northern unnamed tributary had similar electrical conductivity readings at all frequencies, suggesting the potential for signal attenuation from 

elevated specific conductance in surface water or thicker zones 

of higher electrical conductivity at depth (fig. 27). A different 

response was recorded in the former Rainsford Pit area where 

the high electrical conductivity readings were recorded by 

using the lower frequency values. The high electrical conductivity readings indicated conductive materials at greater depth, 

such as buried waste rock, conductive native ore rock, or 

elevated dissolved ions and metals within the groundwater 

system where the water table is deeper near a topographically 

high area of the site (figs. 4, 28). 

82°17'40" 82°17'35"

33°52'30"

33°52'25"

Image from U.S. Department of Agriculture

and U.S. Geological Survey, 2011

0 10 20 30 40 METERS

0 50 100 150 FEET

Location of 

westernmost

survey data

collected

southeast of

the main pit

(shown in B)

A

NORTH SOUTH

20

25

15

10

5

0

Electrical conductivity,

in millisiemens per meter

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Distance along survey line, in feet

B

Figure 26. (A) Location of electromagnetic conductivity data collected along the westernmost survey line southeast

of the Main Pit lake and (B) corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 at the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Main Pit

lake

Frequency, in hertz

1,530

8,250

20,370

33,030

47,970

63,090

93,090

EXPLANATION

[Map]

[Graph]

Survey line

Study area

Map

area

Figure 26. (A) Location of electromagnetic conductivity data collected along the westernmost survey line southeast 

of the Main Pit lake and (B) corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 at the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
38 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

SOUTHWEST NORTHEAST

Electrical conductivity,

in millisiemens per meter

Distance along survey line, in feet

B

A

82°17'50" 82°17'40"

33°52'40"

33°52'30"

3

3,463

3 2,358

5.04

259

3.44

1,968

3.22

2,691

3.14

3,158

3.17

3,174

3.19

3,193

3.12

3,324

3.06

3,351

2.98

3,365

2.99

3,232

2.99

2,961 3.03

2,888

2.99

2,640

3.27

2,700

3.02

2,455

3.03 2,343

3.01 2,430

2.98

3,747

3.02

3,770

3.22

3,206

2.85

3,905

60

70

50

20

10

40

30

0

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500

Frequency, in hertz

1,530

8,250

20,370

33,030

47,970

EXPLANATION

[Map]

[Graph]

Survey line

Water-quality reading—pH, in 

 standard units (white text) and

 specific conductance, in micro-

 siemens per meter (pink text)

2.98

3,747

0

0 100 200 300 400 500 FEET

50 100 METERS

Figure 27. (A) Location of surface electromagnetic conductivity data and water-quality readings along the northern

unnamed tributary and (B) corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 at the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Image from U.S. Department of Agriculture

and U.S. Geological Survey, 2011

Study area

Map area

Main Pit

lake

Figure 27. (A) Location of surface electromagnetic conductivity data and water-quality readings along the northern 

unnamed tributary and (B ) corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 at the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
Surface Geophysical Surveys 39

Figure 28. (A) Location of surface electromagnetic conductivity data collected along the northeasternmost 

survey line over Rainsford Pit and (B ) corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Figure 28. Location of (A) surface electromagnetic conductivity data collected along the northeasternmost survey

line over the Rainsford Pit and (B) corresponding frequency profiles recorded during December 2012 at the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Electrical conductivity,

in millisiemens per meter

1,530

3,930

8,250

13,590

23,070

33,030

47,970

Distance along survey line, in feet

82°18'10" 82°18'05" 82°18'00"

33°52'15"

33°52'10"

20

50

40

10

30

0

60

70

80

90

100

0 100 200 300 400 500

B NORTHWEST SOUTHEAST

A

Location of northeasternmost

survey data collected

over Rainsford Pit

(shown in B)

0 20 40 60 80 METERS

Image from U.S. Department of Agriculture 0 100 200 300 FEET

and U.S. Geological Survey, 2011

Frequency, in hertz

EXPLANATION

[Map]

[Graph]

Survey line

Study area

Map

area
40 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Estimates of depth of penetration from the surface electrical conductivity surveys were calculated by using equation 1 

in the Methods section of this report. By using a constant 

of 1.26×10–6 for magnetic permeability, which is representative of free space or a vacuum, the maximum estimated 

depth of penetration for the higher frequencies of 47,090 and 

33,030 Hz was about 1 to 10 m (about 3 to 33 ft) for the higher 

70-mS/m readings and about 10 to 90 m (about 33 to 300 ft) 

for the lower 1-mS/m readings. For the intermediate frequency 

of 8,250 Hz, depths of penetration estimates were about 20 m 

(about 65 ft) for the higher readings near 60 mS/m and about 

170 m (about 560 ft) for the lower readings near 1 mS/m. 

For the lowest frequency of 1,530 Hz, depths of penetration 

were estimated at 40 m (about 130 ft) for the higher readings 

near 90 mS/m and about 400 m (about 1,300 ft) for the lower 

readings near 1 mS/m. For magnetic materials such as those 

containing high amounts of iron, the depth of penetration 

would likely be reduced. 

82°17'50" 82°17'40"

33°52'40"

33°52'30"

0 100 200 300 400 FEET

0 50 75 100 METERS 25

Stream discharge

measured 0.0072 m3/s

February 28, 2013

at 3:30 pm

Starting point

of survey

(0 meters)

Ending point

of survey

(725 meters)

Figure 29. Location of the distributed temperature sensing survey near the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site, northern unnamed tributary, February 26–March 7, 2013.

Study area

Map

area

Main Pit

lake

Image from U.S. Department of Agriculture

and U.S. Geological Survey, 2011

Delineation of Areas of Groundwater Discharge 

Areas of low pH and elevated specific conductance at 

the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site were 

detected in the northern unnamed tributary surface water 

during previous work conducted by EPA and their contractors 

and in December 2012 as part of this study (fig. 27A). The low 

pH/high specific conductance is likely attributed to elevated 

dissolved ions and metals flowing out of the Main Pit lake 

into the groundwater system, and then discharging into the 

tributary (fig. 2). 

From February 26 to March 7, 2013, a DTS survey was 

conducted by using a Sensornet Oryx DTS sensor to delineate 

areas of groundwater discharge along the streambed of the 

northern unnamed tributary at the site (fig. 29). At that time of 

year, groundwater temperatures generally are much warmer 

than surface-water temperatures and generally are not subject 

to diurnal fluctuations. 

Figure 29. Location of the distributed temperature sensing survey near the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site, northern unnamed tributary, 

February 26–March 7, 2013. [m3

/s, cubic meter per second]
Surface Geophysical Surveys 41

The streambed was generally composed of exposed 

bedrock and large cobbles, with the exception of a limited 

quantity of sand- and silt-sized particles that had accumulated 

around boulders. Tributary discharge was low and stable 

(base-flow conditions) during the majority of the 7-day survey, 

measuring 0.25 cubic foot per second (ft3/s) (0.0072 cubic 

meter per second [m3/s]) on February 28, 2013, at 3:30 p.m. 

The majority of the tributary is quite shallow, with water 

depths less than 0.5 m interspersed with a few 1-m-deep 

pools. One precipitation event occurred during the survey. On 

March 5, 2013, 0.43 inch (1.1 centimeters) of precipitation 

was recorded (Brian Striggow, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Athens, Ga., written commun., 2013). 

 The DTS surface-water and air temperature data 

collected are displayed as a continuous thermogram in 

figure 30. Surface-water temperatures measured by the 

DTS along the streambed during the survey ranged from 

about 3 to 14 oC, and air temperature (fig. 30A) measured 

at the tributary bank ranged from a low of about –6 oC on 

March 4, 2013, at 7:34 a.m. to a high of about 23 oC on 

March 5 at 3:49 p.m. A diurnal thermal signature within the 

surface water is visible on the thermogram, displaying warmer 

surface-water temperatures from solar radiation in the afternoon followed by cooling during the night (figs. 30A and B). 

Areas with an influx of groundwater typically exhibit reduced 

fluctuations in temperature cycles compared to areas with only 

surface water, which is influenced directly by air temperature 

fluctuations (fig. 30B). 

A thermal trace of surface-water temperatures measured 

on March 4, 2013, at 7:34 a.m., the time of coldest measured 

air temperature, is displayed in figure 30C. The groundwater 

discharge areas identified at 549 and 645 m along the cable 

were located to the north-northeast of the Main Pit lake and 

upstream of the confluence with a second tributary to the north 

(fig. 31). Both of these identified areas are within shallow 

pools below rock ledges controlling surface-water movement. 

The groundwater discharge areas identified at 417 and 438 m 

along the cable were located along a straight section of the 

tributary to the north-northwest of the Main Pit, downstream 

from the confluence. 

Each temperature measurement recorded using the DTS 

at the site was compared to the calculated 7-day average, along 

with a variance, for that respective location (fig. 29). Each 

temperature measurement made in the same area as groundwater discharge will be thermally buffered (have a low variance) compared to temperature measurements in areas where 

the cable is exposed or groundwater is not discharging. The 

temperature data were recorded every 15 minutes for 7 days 

at each point along the cable. The sum of the temperature 

measurements made at one specific location was then divided 

by the number of measurements to obtain a 7-day average. 

Spatially, these 7-day averages can be plotted in relation to the 

length of the cable for comparison of any temperature time 

trace with the average temperature. Where the thermogram was 

comparable to the 7-day average temperature, groundwater 

inflow is indicated as light green areas in figure 30C. This lack 

of variability in the temperature data, which represents areas 

of groundwater discharge, is particularly noticeable when 

measurements collected at the warmest and coolest part of one 

diurnal cycle are compared to the 7-day average (fig. 30C). 

Of the area surveyed along the northern unnamed 

tributary, four separate locations were delineated as areas of 

groundwater discharge, corresponding to distances of about 

417, 438, 549, and 645 m (1,370, 1,440, 1,800, and 2,120 ft, 

respectively) along the fiber-optic cable (fig. 30C). Locations 

of inferred groundwater discharge identified by DTS measurements correlate with areas of increased electrical conductivity 

measured in the surface EM surveys during December 2012 

(figs. 21–25) and the locations of four seeps delineated near 

the creek in previous sampling efforts (fig. 31). One seep 

(seep 0, fig. 31) located further downstream and west of the 

Main Pit lake was identified in the electrical conductivity 

survey and in previous investigations, but not during the fiberoptic DTS survey. 

No obvious geologic anomalies, such as differences in 

materials or bedrock outcrops, were noted in the groundwater discharge areas identified along the unnamed northern 

tributary at the site as part of this study. Locations of groundwater discharge identified by DTS measurements correlate 

with areas of increased electrical conductivity measured in 

the surface surveys during December 2012 (figs. 21–25) and 

groundwater seeps delineated in previous sampling efforts 

at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site 

(fig. 31). 
42 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

7-day average

4:19 p.m. measurement

7:34 a.m. measurement

7-day average

March 3, 2013 (warmest day/time)

March 4, 2013 (coldest day/time) Groundwater

discharge 

Fiber break—Out of the creek 

Mar. 01

23:04:52

Mar. 03

00:04:52

Mar. 04

01:04:52

Mar. 05

02:04:52

Mar. 06

03:04:53

Mar. 07

04:04:52

0 122 244 365 487 609 725

Distance along fiber-optic cable, in meters

0 121.75 243.5 365.26 487.01 608.76

Distance along cable, in meters

4

8

12

16

0

4

8

12

16

0

Surface-water temperature,

in degrees Celsius

Non-seep area

3

00:04:52

4

01:04:52

5

02:04:52

6

03:04:53

4

8

12

16

4

0

0

8

12

16

20

Seep area 

Water temperature, in degrees Celsius

B

C

A

2

23:04:52

3

00:04:52

4

01:04:52

5

02:04:52

6

03:04:53

7

04:04:52

0

8

16

24

Air temperature, in

degrees Celsius

Figure 30. Distributed temperature sensing measurements collected in the northern unnamed tributary at the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site from February 28 to March 7, 2013:

(A) recorded air temperature cycles; (B) water temperature in previously identified seep and non-seep areas; and

(C) thermogram images during the monitoring period and graphs showing the 7-day mean surface-water temperatures

on the warmest and coldest days/times.

Time period shown in B

March 2013

March 2013

EXPLANATION

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Surface-water 

 temperature, in

 degrees Celsius

Figure 30. Distributed temperature sensing measurements collected in the northern unnamed tributary at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site from February 28 to March 7, 2013: 

(A) recorded air temperature cycles; (B) water temperature in previously identified seep and non-seep areas; and 

(C) thermogram images during the monitoring period and graphs showing the 7-day mean surface-water temperatures 

on the warmest and coldest days/times.
Surface Geophysical Surveys 43

Location of discharge

measurement

February 28, 2013,

at 3:30 pm 

Areas of potential 

groundwater

discharge

Starting point

of survey

(0 meters)

Ending point

of survey

(725 meters)

82°17'50" 82°17'40"

33°52'40"

33°52'30"

Figure 31. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Technical Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and line

of distributed temperature sensing measurements and areas of interpreted groundwater discharge in the

unnamed northern tributary measured March 4, 2013, at 7:34 a.m. at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Seep 3

Seep 2

Seep 1

Seep 1

Seep 0

Areas of potential 

groundwater

discharge

Fiber splice area

EXPLANATION

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Seep and identifier

Surface-water temperature, 

 in degrees Celsius

0 100 200 300 400 FEET

0 50 75 100 METERS 25

Study area

Map

area

Image from U.S. Department of Agriculture

and U.S. Geological Survey, 2011

Main Pit

lake

Figure 31. Location of seeps identified in June 2009 (Oneida Technical Integrated Enterprises, 2009) and line of 

distributed temperature sensing measurements and areas of interpreted groundwater discharge in the unnamed 

northern tributary measured March 4, 2013, at 7:34 a.m. at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/

Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
44 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted borehole 

geophysical logging and water-quality profiling in selected 

wells and conducted surface geophysical surveys at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina, 

from October 2012 through March 2013. Borehole geophysical logs were collected from seven shallow screened wells 

and four open-borehole bedrock wells at the site to delineate 

zones of elevated electrical conductivity above and below 

the water table and to characterize the fractured bedrock part 

of the groundwater system. Well depths ranged from about 

26 to 300 feet below land surface. Surface geophysical surveys 

were collected to delineate areas of elevated electrical conductivity that are related to native geologic materials, mine waste 

rock, and elevated dissolved ions and metals in groundwater 

and to delineate areas of groundwater discharge by using 

the fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing method in the 

northern unnamed tributary at the site. 

Results of electromagnetic-induction logging of five 

selected wells about 1,300 feet south of the Main Pit lake 

suggest elevated electrical conductivity extends to depths of 

as much as 110 feet below land surface. From water-quality 

profiles conducted in the seven screened wells, the highest 

specific conductance and the lowest pH readings were noted 

for two wells located between the Main Pit lake and the 

northern unnamed tributary. Conceptually, these wells may 

intercept groundwater with elevated conductivity that is 

leaking from the Main Pit along a flowpath discharging to 

the tributary. The range in groundwater-quality properties 

recorded in the selected wells varied as follows: pH ranged 

from 3.1 to 9.2; specific conductance from 48 to 5,300 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius; dissolved 

oxygen from 0.2 to 4.4 milligrams per liter; and water temperature from 17.0 to 18.0 degrees Celsius. These data suggest a 

wide range of geochemical conditions and elevated concentrations of dissolved ions and metals within the groundwater 

system at the site.

Bedrock structural interpretations were measured for 

three bedrock wells where image logs were collected. The 

mean strike azimuth of the bedrock foliation data measured in 

well IR-1 was 221° (N. 41° E.), and the mean dip angle was 

78° to the northwest. The mean foliation of N. 41° E. is within 

the range of regional bedding of N. 30–50° E. with the dip 

angle ranging from 52° to 85° to the northwest or southeast. 

Dominant strike azimuth orientations of primary fractures 

measured in three bedrock wells were 210–250° (N. 30° E. 

to N. 70° E.) with a mean dip of 68° northwest. This orientation parallels the regional bedding strike of N. 30–50° E. and 

a dominant fracture set striking N. 40° E.–N. 60° E. measured 

by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund 

Technical Assessment and Response Team in 2008.

Results from the modeling of the heat-pulse flowmeter 

data collected in bedrock well IR-1 resolved four fracture 

zones at 38.5, 50, 100, and 125 feet below land surface. The 

transmissivity estimate calculated by the FLASH model was 

about 69 feet squared per day, and the radius of influence was 

estimated to be about 640 feet. The shallowest fracture zone 

modeled at 38.5 feet had the largest contribution to flow in the 

well at about 59 percent and is potentially part of the transition 

zone because a greater fracture density was observed in the 

optical televiewer image log at this depth.

Interpretation of surface electromagnetic surveys 

conducted in December 2012 indicates that the highest 

readings representing areas of elevated electrical conductivity 

were delineated in specific areas along the northern unnamed 

tributary and northwest of the former Rainsford Pit. Surface 

geophysical electromagnetic readings greater than 90 millisiemens per meter were recorded at the site. Elevated electrical 

conductivity in the Main Pit area appears to be discharging 

through the groundwater system to specific areas along the 

northern unnamed tributary. Elevated electrical conductivity in 

the Rainsford Pit area appears to be in an area to the northwest 

and may represent either conductive native or waste-rock 

materials and (or) elevated concentrations of dissolved ions 

and metals in the groundwater system in that area.

Results from the fiber-optic distributed temperature 

system survey conducted from February 26 to March 7, 2013, 

indicated groundwater discharge at four separate areas 

along the northern unnamed tributary, north of the Main Pit 

lake. These areas correspond to higher surface electrical 

conductivity readings noted as part of this study and areas 

where groundwater seeps were sampled during previous 

investigations at the site. 
References 45

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November, 22 p.

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flank of the southern Appalachians: Earth-Science Reviews, 

v. 57, no. 3– 4, p. 299–339. 

Hibbard, J.P., van Staal, C.R., Rankin, D.W., and Williams, 

H., 2006, Lithotectonic map of the Appalachian Orogen, 

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systems: Water Resources Research, v. 42, no. 12, 8 p.

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Appendixes 1–6
48 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Appendix 1. Borehole Geophysical Logging Field Notes

Appendix 1
Appendix 1 49
50 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 51
52 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 53
54 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 55
56 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 57

Groundwater-quality profile
58 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 59

Groundwater-quality profile
60 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 61

Groundwater-quality profile
62 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 63

Groundwater-quality profile
64 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 65

Groundwater-quality profile
66 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Groundwater-quality profile
Appendix 1 67

Groundwater-quality profile
68 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 69
70 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 71
72 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 73
74 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 1 75
76 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina
Appendix 2 77

Table 2–1. Downhole camera well inspection logging notes.

 Well BH33 Well BH34 Well BH49

Depth below 

land surface,

in feet

Remarks

Depth below 

land surface, 

in feet

Remarks

Depth below 

land surface, 

in feet

Remarks

6.1 Casing joint 6.6 Casing joint 0.9 Surface casing joint

20.6 Casing joint 16.6 Casing joint 10.9 Casing joint

30.6 Casing joint 26.6 Casing joint 20.9 Casing joint

40.6 Casing joint 36.6 Casing joint 30.9 Casing joint

41.1 Water surface 41.1 Water surface 40.9 Casing joint

50.6 Casing joint 41.6 Casing joint 48.4 Water surface

60.6 Casing joint 46.6 Casing joint 50.9 Casing joint

70.6 Casing joint 56.6 Casing joint 60.9 Screen starts

80.6 Casing joint 66.6 Casing joint 65.9 Joint

90.6 Casing joint 76.6 Casing joint 69.9 Bottom (sediment)

100.6 Casing joint 86.6 Casing joint

110.6 Casing joint 95.6 Casing pinched1

120.6 Casing joint

130.6 Casing joint

140.6 Casing joint

150.6 Screen starts

160.6 Bottom (sediment)

Appendix 2. Downhole Camera Well Inspection Logging Notes

Appendix 2
78 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Well BH50 Well BH51

Depth below 

land surface, 

in feet

Remarks

Depth below 

land surface, 

in feet

Remarks

3.2 Casing joint 3.3 Casing joint

12.7 Casing joint 12.8 Casing joint

22.7 Casing joint 22.8 Casing joint

32.7 Casing joint 32.8 Casing joint

42.7 Casing joint 42.8 Casing joint

48.5 Water surface 47.4 Water surface

52.7 Casing joint 62.8 Casing joint

62.7 Casing joint 72.8 Casing joint

72.7 Casing joint 82.8 Casing joint

82.7 Casing joint 82.8 Casing joint

92.7 Casing joint 92.8 Casing joint

102.7 Casing joint 102.8 Casing joint

112.7 Casing joint 112.8 Casing joint

122.7 Casing joint 122.8 Casing joint

131.7 Casing stained orange below 131 feet 132.8 Casing joint

132.7 Screen starts 142.8 Casing joint

141.7 Screen ends 152.8 Casing joint

142.2 Bottom (sediment) 162.8 Casing joint

165.8 Water blurry (cloudy) below 165 feet

172.8 Casing joint

182.8 Casing joint; distinct color change

191.8 Distinct color change

192.0 Bottom (sediment)1

1

Screened interval was not observed.

Table 2–1. Downhole camera well inspection logging notes.—Continued
Appendix 3 79

Table 3–1. Water-quality results of borehole-tool rinse-water samples, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Barite Hill/

Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina, October–November 2012.

[Notes: All samples were unfiltered. Station numbers are database quality-assurance identifiers not associated with a geographic location. mg/L, milligrams per 

liter; μg/L, micrograms per liter; <, less than; na, not analyzed]

Sample type Station 

number

Sample

date

Calcium 

(mg/L)

Magnesium 

(mg/L)

Sodium 

(mg/L)

Potassium 

(mg/L)

Silica

(mg/L)

Aluminum 

(μg/L)

USGS tool rinse 10100023 10/9/2012 0.187 0.185 <0.06 0.128 1.59 212

USGS tool rinse 10100023 10/11/2012 0.339 0.0671 0.196 0.151 0.332 76.9

USGS tool rinse 10100023 11/5/2012 0.271 0.0431 0.074 0.119 0.347 110

USGS tool rinse1 10100023 11/5/2012 <0.021 <0.007 <0.06 <0.015 <0.018 <50

Reporting limit 0.021 0.007 0.06 0.015 0.018 50

Blank value <0.021 <0.0070 <0.060 <0.0150 0.018 <50.0

EPA groundwater sample range for wells 

logged as part of this study2

12/2012 <0.25–390 <0.25–93 3.4–120 <1.0 –12 na <100–

150,000

Reporting limit 0.25 0.25 1.0 1.0 na 100

Sample type Station 

number

Sample

date

Arsenic 

(μg/L)

Barium 

(μg/L)

Berryllium 

(μg/L)

Boron

(μg/L)

Cadmium 

(μg/L)

Chromium 

(μg/L)

USGS tool rinse 10100023 10/9/2012 3.64 <0.19 32.3 <0.4 1.99 8.65

USGS tool rinse 10100023 10/11/2012 3.16 <0.19 33.6 <0.4 1.29 4.28

USGS tool rinse 10100023 11/5/2012 <0.3 <0.19 31.2 <0.4 3.01 6.98

USGS tool rinse1 10100023 11/5/2012 <0.3 <0.19 31.8 <0.4 <0.6 <1.4

Reporting limit 0.3 0.19 2.4 0.4 0.6 1.4

Blank value <0.300 <0.190 <2.40 <0.400 <0.600 <1.40

EPA groundwater sample range for wells 

logged as part of this study2

12/2012 <5.0 –140 <0.5–<2.5 na <0.5–1,400 <5.0 –52 <10– 92,000

Reporting limit 5.0 0.5, 2.5 na 0.5 5.0 10

Sample type Station 

number

Sample

date

Copper 

(μg/L)

Iron

(μg/L)

Lead

(μg/L)

Lithium 

(μg/L)

Manganese

(μg/L)

Thallium 

(μg/L)

USGS tool rinse 10100023 10/9/2012 8.65 4,060 3.75 0.513 17.4 <0.06

USGS tool rinse 10100023 10/11/2012 4.28 150 149 0.232 2.92 <0.06

USGS tool rinse 10100023 11/5/2012 6.98 <4.6 7.09 0.241 14.4 <0.06

USGS tool rinse1 10100023 11/5/2012 <1.4 <4.6 <0.04 <0.04 <0.2 <0.06

Reporting limit 1.4 4.6 0.04 0.04 0.2 0.06

Blank value <1.40 <4.60 <0.040 <0.040 <0.200 <0.060

EPA groundwater sample range for wells 

logged as part of this study2

12/2012 <10–92,000 <100–

1,100,000

<1.0–24 na <5.0–15,000 <1.0

Reporting limit 10 100 1.0 na 5.0 1.0

Sample type Station 

number

Sample

date

Molybdenum

(μg/L)

Nickel

(μg/L)

Silver

(μg/L)

Strontium 

(μg/L)

Vanadium 

(μg/L)

Zinc

(μg/L)

USGS tool rinse 10100023 10/9/2012 <1.4 2.51 <0.6 0.804 <0.6 28.2

USGS tool rinse 10100023 10/11/2012 <1.4 <1.1 <0.6 1.6 <0.6 42.1

USGS tool rinse 10100023 11/5/2012 <1.4 4.91 <0.6 0.938 <0.6 21.5

USGS tool rinse1 10100023 11/5/2012 <1.4 <1.1 <0.6 <0.18 <0.6 <2.0

Reporting limit 1.4 1.1 0.6 0.18 0.6 2

Blank value <1.40 <1.10 <0.600 <0.180 <0.600 <2.00

EPA groundwater sample range for wells 

logged as part of this study2

12/2012 na <10–590 <0.5 –<5.0 na <5.0– 91 <10–37,000

Reporting limit na 10 0.5, 2.5, 5.0 na 5 10

1

Bottle field blank.

2

Results from December 2012 sampling. Well IR-1 not sampled (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, Science and Ecosystem Division, 2013).

Appendix 3. Water-Quality Results of Borehole-Tool Rinse-Water Samples

Appendix 3
80 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 4–1. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH33, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

APIU American Petroleum Institute Units

SC specific conductance

μS/cm microsiemens per centimeter

mg/L milligrams per liter

Depth Natural gamma 

0 100 APIU 0 7,000

Temperature

17 Degrees Celsius19

SC

300 μS/cm 600

pH

7 8.5

Dissolved oxygen

0 mg/L 3

0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

110.0

120.0

130.0

140.0

150.0

160 0

Electrical conductivity

millimhos per meter

EXPLANATION

 Water level 41.11 feet below land surface

Feet

below 

land

surface

Screened

interval

Conductive host rock

above and below the

water table 

Appendix 4 Appendix 4. Borehole Geophysical Logs and Water-Quality Profiles

Appendix 4

Figure 4 –1. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH33, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
Appendix 4 81

Figure 4–2. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH34, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Depth Natural gamma 

0 APIU 100 0 7,000

Temperature

16 19

SC

300 μS/cm 600

pH

7 8.5

Dissolved oxygen

0 mg/L 1

0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

Feet

below 

land

surface

Electrical conductivity

millimhos per meter Degrees Celsius

APIU American Petroleum Institute Units

SC specific conductance

μS/cm microsiemens per centimeter

mg/L milligrams per liter

EXPLANATION

 Water level 40.79 feet below land surface

Conductive host rock

above and below the

water table 

Figure 4 –2. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH34, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
82 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 4–3. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH49, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Depth Natural gamma

0 100 0 7,000

Temperature

17 19

SC

0 μS/cm 100

pH

4 6

Dissolved oxygen

3 mg/L 5

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

Electrical conductivity

millimhos per meter Feet

below 

land

surface

APIU Degrees Celsius

APIU American Petroleum Institute Units

SC specific conductance

μS/cm microsiemens per centimeter

mg/L milligrams per liter

EXPLANATION

 Water level 47.06 feet below land surface

Figure 4 –3. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH49, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
Appendix 4 83

Figure 4–4. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH50, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Electrical conductivity

millimhos per meter

Depth Natural gamma BH5 0

0 APIU 150 0 7,000

SC

0 μS/cm 300

pH

6 12

Temperature

17 19

Dissolved oxygen

0 mg/L 1

0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

110.0

120.0

130.0

140 0

Feet

below 

land

surface

Degrees Celsius

APIU American Petroleum Institute Units

SC specific conductance

μS/cm microsiemens per centimeter

mg/L milligrams per liter

EXPLANATION

 Water level 47.47 feet below land surface

Screened

interval

Conductive host rock

above and below the

water table 

Figure 4 –4. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH50, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
84 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 4–5. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH51, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Depth Natural gamma

0 APIU 150 0 7,000

Temperature

16 19

SC

100 μS/cm 300

pH

6 12

Dissolved oxygen

0 mg/L 3

0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

110.0

120.0

130.0

140.0

150.0

160.0

170.0

180.0

Feet

below 

land

surface

Electrical conductivity

millimhos per meter Degrees Celsius

APIU American Petroleum Institute Units

SC specific conductance

μS/cm microsiemens per centimeter

mg/L milligrams per liter

EXPLANATION

 Water level 45.28 feet below land surface

Conductive host rock

above and below the

water table 

Figure 4– 5. Borehole geophysical logs and water-quality profile in regolith well BH51, October 2012, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
Appendix 4 85

Depth

100 3,500

3 4

30.0

35.0

40.0

Figure 4–6. Groundwater-quality profile in regolith well BH55, October 2012, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Feet

below 

land

surface

SC

μS/cm

pH

Temperature

17 Degrees Celsius19

Dissolved oxygen

0 mg/L 3

SC specific conductance

μS/cm microsiemens per centimeter

mg/L milligrams per liter

EXPLANATION

 Water level 21.39 feet below land surface

Figure 4– 6. Groundwater-quality profile in regolith well BH55, October 2012, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near 

McCormick, South Carolina.
86 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Depth

5,000 5,500 17 19

2 4 0 3

30.0

20.0

Figure 4–7. Groundwater-quality profile in regolith well BH56, October 2012, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

Feet

below 

land

surface

SC

μS/cm

pH

Temperature

Degrees Celsius

Dissolved oxygen

mg/L

SC specific conductance

μS/cm microsiemens per centimeter

mg/L milligrams per liter

 Water level 17.03 feet below land surface EXPLANATION

Figure 4 –7. Groundwater-quality profile in regolith well BH56, October 2012, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near 

McCormick, South Carolina.
Appendix 5 87

Optical televiewer

structural features

Optical televiewer image

Figure 5–1. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and structural feature orientation in

bedrock well IR-1, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near

McCormick, South Carolina.

N E S W N

N

S

EW

Example of tadpole

showing dip azimuth

Primary fractures

Secondary fractures

Foliation

Sealed fractures

EXPLANATION

casing to 28 ft

Depth

1 ft:500 ft 5 9 0 90

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

140.0

160.0

180.0

200.0

220.0

240.0

260.0

280.0

300 0

Dip angle degrees

Caliper

0° 90° 180° 270° 0° Inches

Appendix 5

Appendix 5. Borehole Geophysical Logs Showing Depth of Fracture Zones 

and Structural Feature Orientation

Appendix 5

Figure 5–1. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and structural feature orientation 

in bedrock well IR-1, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site near 

McCormick, South Carolina.
88 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Caliper

Inches

Optical televiewer

structural features

Optical televiewer image

N E S W N

Figure 5–2. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and structural feature

orientation in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

EXPLANATION

Casing to 51.5 ft

Depth

1 ft:150 ft

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

55.0

60.0

65.0

70.0

75.0

80.0

85.0

Primary fractures

Secondary fractures

N

S

EW

Example of tadpole

showing dip azimuth

0° 90° 180° 270° 0° 5 12 0 Dip angle degrees 90

Figure 5–2. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and structural feature 

orientation in bedrock well BH66, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
Appendix 5 89

Figure 5–3. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and structural feature

orientation in bedrock well BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields

Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.

EXPLANATION

Primary fractures

Secondary fractures

N

S

EW

Example of tadpole

showing dip azimuth

Acoustical televiewer

N E S W N structural features

Acoustic televiewer image

Depth

1 ft:250 ft 6 8

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

110.0

120.0

130.0

140.0

0° 90° 180° 270° 0° 0 Dip angle degrees 90

Caliper

Inches

Figure 5–3. Borehole geophysical logs showing depth of fracture zones and structural feature 

orientation in bedrock well BH67, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada 

Goldfields Superfund site near McCormick, South Carolina.
90 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Appendix 6. Flow-Log Analysis of Single Holes Model of Bedrock Well IR-1

Heat-Pulse Flowmeter Logs

FLASH (Flow-Log Analysis of Single Holes)

by F.D. Day-Lewis, C.D. Johnson, F.L. Paillet, and K.J. Halford

Contact Info:

http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/bgas

Last updated: 04/09/2010
Appendix 6 91

Summary

FLASH (Flow-Log Analysis of Single Holes) is a spreadsheet-based graphical user interface (GUI) for a multi-layer Thiem 

solution for steady-state flow to a borehole. The software allows for analysis of data from boreholes in which step increases in 

flow (from discrete fractures or zones) or linear increases in flow (over multiple aquifer layers) are observed. Data are entered 

in the worksheet “FIELD DATA.” Interpretations of ambient and stressed flow are enetered along with physical parameters and 

water-level measurements on the “INPUTS” sheet. Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) routines provide an interface to the 

Excel Solver, which can be used for model calibration.

This spreadsheet uses a multi-layer Thiem analytical model to generate a borehole flow log representing the flow that 

would be measured in a borehole with a specified number of aquifers for a given set of values for the water levels in each of the 

aquifers, and the difference between the open-hole water level under static and steady pumping (or injection) conditions. The 

program is used in a forward modeling mode (that is, trial and error) until a satisfactory match between measured and computed 

flow is achieved for a given set of input parameters. In the GUI, the input parameters, which generally include transmissivity 

and head, can be changed; the simulated flow profiles are updated automatically. The GUI also supports use of the Excel Solver 

for automated calibration.

Installation

Use the spreadsheet available online at http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/flash/ (accessed July 2015). You may need to reset macro 

security to include the location of this file as a “trusted site.” Go to “Excel Options” under the “Office Button.” Also, it may be 

necessary to install the Solver add-in. The spreadsheet is designed for use in Excel 2007 or later. 

Input

1. Data points may be entered in columns of the worksheet “FIELD DATA;” however, the program may be run without 

entering measurements. You can either type the values for depth and flow rate, or you can open the output file from 

the flowmeter collection program in Excel and copy the appropriate data fields into the “FIELD DATA” worksheet. 

Remember, by convention, downflow is shown as negative, and upflow is positive. Be sure to make all corrections to 

flow data including normalization of pumping flow, if necessary.

2. The user’s interpretation of the field data (for example, fracture depths, flow rates) is entered on the worksheet “INPUTS.” 

Avoid interpreting all variations in flowmeter measurements; rather fit an interpretation to the scatter in the data. Consider 

borehole diameter and data quality. The code allows for up to 10 flow zones (aquifer layers or fractures).

3. Model calibration parameters (Zone Tfactor and Zone H) are adjusted manually to improve the fit to the data. 

4. As an alternative to manual calibration, the Excel Solver may be used to estimate the model parameters that result 

in the best match to the data, in a least-squares sense.

Output

The simulated log is plotted automatically on the same graphs as the interpreted logs and the measured point data. The 

input and output data, measured and modeled flow profiles, and additional supporting data or documentation can be stored in the 

spreadsheet. The Excel file can be “saved as” a new filename. It can be reopened (like any normal Excel file), and provided you 

enable the macros upon opening, the model can be revised. 

Appendix 6
92 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Model Parameters

Be careful to use inch/pound parameters -- feet, inches, gallons per minute.

Elevation of measuring point - elevation used for calculation of water levels based on drawdown and depths entered below, 

 in feet.

Number of flow zones - number of transmissive zones (layers or fractures) up to a maximum of 10.

Well diameter - diameter of well in the interval over which drawdown occurs, in inches. 

Drawdown - the distance between the ambient and the quasi-steady state water level measured under stressed (pumping

 or injection conditions), in feet. 

Depth to ambient water level - depth from measurement point to water level in well in absence of stress, in feet. 

Depth at bottom of casing - depth at which the well is open to the formation, in feet. The hydraulic solution will be plotted 

 from this depth down to the depth at the bottom of the well.

Depth at bottom of well - depth at the bottom of the well, in feet. The hydraulic solution will be plotted to this depth.

Radius of influence - the radial distance from the well at which all transmissive zones remain at equilibrium condition, in feet.

Total transmissivity - the transmissivity based on an open-hole pump test, used for a starting value, in feet squared per day (ft2/d).

Fracture or layer information - For each zone the following is specified: depth, in feet, below the reference point. Fractures 

are numbered automatically; fractures are numbered from bottom to top:

 Ambient flow above - the flow in the well above the given zone, with upward flow positive, in gallon per minute (gal/min). 

 Pumped flow above - the flow in the well above the given zone, under stressed conditions, with upward flow positive, 

in gpm (or injected flow rate in the case of an injection test).

 Tfactor - the proportion of the given zone’s transmissivity to the total transmissivity of the well; that is, if the estimate

is 4 ft2/d, you would enter a 0.04 zone’s Tfactor for a total transmissivity of 100 ft2/d, and for a total transmissivity

of 40 ft2/d, you would enter 0.10 for the Tfactor; in decimal fraction of total, dimensionless.

 Dh - an estimate of the head for the zone relative to ambient water level, in feet.

 Farfield head - the head of the given zone at large distance from the well, in feet. Note that this is calculated and not 

entered directly by the user.

ABS(Dh) maximum - inversion constraint on the maximum absolute difference between the head of any zone and the 

 water level in the well, in feet.

Regularization weight - weight applied to the regularization term in the inversion when “Solve with Regularization” 

is specified, dimensionless. Note, regularization is useful in cases where the inversion converges to unrealistic head 

 or transmissivity values, but giving too much weight to the regularization term will degrade the match to the data.

Tfactor minimum - inversion constraint on the minimum TFactor; this is useful in cases where the inversion converges to 

 unrealistically small transmissivity values for certain zones. 

Simulation Output

MSE - Mean squared error, in square gallons per minute ([gal/min]2); this quantifies the misfit between the

interpreted and simulated flows.

Ambient WL - Calculated water level for ambient conditions subtracted from the elevation of the reference point, in feet.

Pumped WL - Calculated water level for stressed conditions subtracted from the elevation of the reference point, in feet.

Sum Tfactor - Sum of the TFactor estimates, dimensionless. If this value is 1.0, then the total transmissivity in cell D13 

 is honored.

Estimated Ttotal - The total transmissivity estimated for the well, in ft2/d.

Sum Dh2 - The sum of squared differences between simulated and interpreted heads. 

Regularized misfit - The combined, weighted misfit for regularized inversion, equal to the MSE plus the regularization 

 weight multiplied by the Sum Dh2.
Appendix 6 93 Figure 6–1. Screen capture of Inputs sheet of FLASH model for bedrock well IR-1 at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site.
94 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina

Figure 6–2. Screen capture of Field_Data sheet of FLASH model for bedrock well IR-1 at the EPA Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund site.
Appendix 6 95

PLOTTING: DO NOT CHANGE THIS

FRACTURES 28.00

Bottom Depth [FT] DATA SIMULATED

ROW OFFSET Depth Ambient Pumped Depth Ambient Pumped

28.00 0.01 0.23 28.00 0.01 0.23

0 38.50 0.01 0.23 38.50 0.01 0.23

0 38.50 0.01 0.10 38.50 0.01 0.10

1 50.00 0.01 0.10 50.00 0.01 0.10

1 50.00 0.01 0.05 50.00 0.01 0.05

2 100.00 0.01 0.05 100.00 0.01 0.05

2 100.00 0.02 0.03 100.00 0.02 0.03

3 125.00 0.02 0.03 125.00 0.02 0.03

3 125.00 0.00 0.00 125.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4 300.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 0.00 0.00

4

Comparison of Measured and Simulated Flowmeter Data
Manuscript approved June 8, 2015

Prepared by the USGS Science Publishing Network

Raleigh Publishing Service Center

Edited by Kimberly A. Waltenbaugh

Illustrations and layout by Caryl J. Wipperfurth

For more information concerning this report, contact:

Director 

U.S. Geological Survey 

South Atlantic Water Science Center

720 Gracern Road, Suite 129

Columbia, SC 29210

http://www.usgs.gov/water/southatlantic/
Chapman and others—U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields Superfund Site Near McCormick, South Carolina—Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5084

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20155084