Seepage channels are small areas of ground water discharge to the land surface. The water within a seepage channel represents a composite of the ground water flow paths that differ physically and chemically along the length of the seepage channel.
Theory suggests that younger, local flow paths dominate the discharge near the headwaters.
This discharge tends to carry a limited dissolved ion load with potentially higher nutrient and dissolved organic carbon loads. Theory also suggests that older, intermediate to regional flow paths dominate the discharge along the lower reaches of the stream. This discharge tends to carry a larger dissolved ion load and typically carries a low nutrient load. In this study, we used CFC age-date and water quality measurements to study variations in groundwater flow paths along two seepage channels. Younger CFC age-dates were dominant in the discharge to both the headwater and lower reaches of the seepage channels.