Figure 1. Average monthly precipitation in Pickaway County, Ohio (1961-1990).
David A. Mangione
Kristina M. Boone
Larry C. Brown
Water is a resource often taken for granted. In recent years, water availability and quality have become important public concerns in Pickaway County. The county is predominantly rural with a population of 48,255 (1990 census), and virtually all households rely on ground water for their water supply. By understanding where water is obtained and how it is utilized in the county, residents can gain a better appreciation for their water as the abundant and important resource it is. Providing a brief overview of Pickaway County's water resources, such as rivers, streams, ponds, reservoirs and ground water, this fact sheet is intended to help increase public awareness and understanding of water resources. Water resources terminology used in this publication is included in Surface and Ground Water Terminology, Fact Sheet AEX-460, which provides a listing of generally accepted water resource definitions. OSU Extension publications are available from all county Extension offices.
An average of approximately 38 inches of precipitation falls on Pickaway County annually. Figure 1 illustrates the average monthly precipitation for the county for the period 1951 to 1980. Based on this 30-year record, the average precipitation is about 3.2 inches per month, with October (2.2 inches) typically being the driest month, and July (4.1 inches) the wettest. There can be, however, extreme variations in some years and in certain months within a year. Such seasonal and yearly extremes, which may have serious consequences, often are not apparent from long-term precipitation information.
Figure 1. Average monthly precipitation in Pickaway County,
Ohio (1961-1990).
Pickaway County has one major drainage basin, the Scioto River. Major streams that drain other parts of the county include: Big Darby Creek, Big Walnut Creek, Deer Creek and Salt Creek. The Scioto River basin has an area of approximately 6,510 square miles, and stretches approximately 231 miles from central Hardin County to the Ohio River at Portsmouth in Scioto County. This drainage basin is important because it empties into the Ohio River, which is a major water resource for southeastern and southern Ohio, and other states. Additionally, the Ohio River plays a major role in Ohio's water commerce transportation system. A generalized surface-water map of the county is given in Figure 2.
The county contains approximately 324,032 land acres, of which approximately 94 percent is rural. Eighty-four different soil types are present within the county. Soils range from very well-drained silt loam soils to poorly-drained silty clay soils. The county water acreage consists of about 2,050 acres of lakes greater than 5 acres in size, and approximately 450 linear miles of streams and rivers (estimated from river basin maps, ODNR Division of Water). This availability lends itself to many uses by both communities and individuals.
Figure 2. Surface-water resources in Pickaway County, Ohio (adapted
from ODNR Division of Water river basin maps).
The primary ground-water sources for Pickaway County are the unconsolidated sand and gravel deposits and carbonate aquifers, which serve as adequate water supplies for private, public, industrial and agricultural use. Unconsolidated aquifers are coarse- or fine-grained sands and gravel along with mixtures of clay and silt. Carbonate aquifers are primarily limestone and dolomite.
Well yields of 500 to 1,000 gpm may be developed from sand and gravel aquifers within the Scioto River valley. The northwest quadrant of the county has the potential of well yields reaching 500 gpm from the carbonate bedrock. Yield potential in all other areas of the county varies widely from 2 to 100 gpm. An overview of the ground-water resources in the county is given in Pickaway County Ground-Water Resources, AEX-490.65.
The yield of a well will vary considerably depending on the age and depth of the well, well construction, the diameter of the casing, pump capacity and age, and more importantly, properties of the geologic formation. Specific information on ground-water availability and wells can be obtained by contacting the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Water.
Based on long-term weather records, Ohio receives an average of 38 inches of precipitation per year. These 38 inches move through a complex path called the hydrologic cycle. Of these 38 inches, about 10 inches (26 percent) become runoff, which moves immediately to surface-water bodies like streams and lakes. Two inches are retained at the ground surface and evaporate back into the atmosphere in a relatively short time period. Twenty-six of the 38 total inches enter the soil surface through infiltration. Twenty of these 26 inches go into soil storage and later are returned to the atmosphere by the combination of evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration). The remaining 6 inches of precipitation (16 percent of the total) have the potential recharge the ground-water supply. Two of these 6 inches eventually move to springs, lakes or streams as ground-water discharge. The remaining 4 inches either return to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration or are withdrawn to supply water needs. For further reading, refer to Ohio's Hydrologic Cycle, AEX-461.
Statewide averages applied to the county's average annual precipitation provide a rough estimate of how many inches may result in runoff and how many inches have the potential to reach aquifers. Based on statewide averages of runoff and ground-water recharge, the county's 38 inches of annual precipitation results in about 10 inches of runoff to streams and lakes, and about 6 inches have the potential to recharge aquifers, annually. Values for particular locations will differ according to local conditions.
The county has a number of villages, but only the 10 listed in Table 1 have public-water systems. Table 1 lists the public-water service, along with the population served, primary water source, estimated daily water usage and treatment plant capacity. These systems provide water for domestic, commercial and industrial uses, which should be considered when using the data in the table.
All of these public-water systems are supplied solely by ground-water sources: Ashville with three wells; Circleville with three wells; Earnhart Hill Water District with three wells; New Holland with two wells; Orient State Institute with seven wells; Darbyville with 3 wells; Commercial Point with 4 wells; and Williamsport with two wells. The Knollwood Village Association and Logan Elm village serve their populations with ground water from wells in the Earnhart Hill Water District.
Ground water is the primary water source in Pickaway County, since all households connected to public-water supplies use ground water. Nearly 30 percent of the households have a private well. A few isolated households, particularly in the northeast corner of the county, use filtered pond water, rainwater cisterns and hauled water.
| Table 1. Water Use in Pickaway County, Ohio.1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Water System | Population Served | Primary Water Source | Water Usage (GPD)2 | Treatment Plant Capacity (GPD) |
| Ashville | 2,000 | Ground Water | 258,000 | 500,000 |
| Circleville | 13,000 | Ground Water | 1,794,000 | 2,600,000 |
| Commercial Point | 250 | Ground Water | 20,000 | 40,000 |
| Darbyville | 225 | Ground Water | 20,000 | 80,000 |
| Earnhart Hill Water District | 2,500 | Ground Water | 181,000 | 864,000 |
| Knollwood Village | 150 | Ground Water | 10,000 | -3 |
| Logan Elm Village | 900 | Ground Water | 66,000 | - |
| New Holland | 800 | Ground Water | 80,000 | 136,000 |
| Orient State Institute | 3,900 | Ground Water | 700,000 | 300,000 |
| Williamsport | 857 | Ground Water | 48,000 | 201,000 |
| 1 Abstracted from Inventory of Municipal Water-Supply Systems by County, Ohio, 1977; data verified by Ohio EPA, Division of Drinking and Ground Water, Columbus, OH. | ||||
| 2 GPD = gallons per day. | ||||
| 3 Water supplied by Earnhart Hill Water District. | ||||
Although Pickaway County has abundant ground-water resources, high mineral content and corrosive properties impact water quality. A high percentage of water samples from test wells in the county exceed the recommended levels for: hardness at 270 parts-per-million (ppm); total dissolved solids at 500 ppm; and sulfates at 250 ppm. Iron content tends to stay near the recommended level of less than 0.3 ppm. High concentrations of iron can affect color and taste. These chemical constituents do not pose a risk to human health and can be corrected with proper water-treatment equipment.
Human activities, such as agricultural production, domestic waste disposal and lawn and turf care, may have some influence on ground-water quality in Pickaway County. In 1988, 171 county wells were sampled for nitrate content, of which 130 (76 percent of total) contained nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in the range of 0 to 0.3 parts-per-million (ppm). This range is assumed to represent natural background levels. Nineteen wells (11 percent) were tested in the range of 0.3 to 3.0 ppm; these values may or may not indicate human influence. The 13 wells (8 percent) that tested in the range of 3.0 to 10 ppm may indicate elevated concentrations resulting from human activities. Only 9 wells (5 percent) tested at greater than 10 ppm nitrate-nitrogen, which exceeds the safe drinking-water standard. The average test value over the 171 wells tested was 1.3 ppm.
Water availability and quality are important public concerns. Water problems can be both costly and inconvenient. While the present and future availability of water is excellent for Pickaway County, water is a precious resource that must be conserved and protected. We must all work together to maintain an adequate supply of good quality water.
This fact sheet is intended to provide information to the public on water facts for Pickaway County. For more information on water resources and drinking-water quality in the county, contact the Pickaway County Extension office, 110 Island Road, P.O. Box 29, Circleville, OH 43113. In addition, the following agencies may be able to provide information on other water resources topics in the county: Pickaway Soil and Water Conservation District; USDA Soil Conservation Service; Pickaway County Health Department; Pickaway County General Health District; ODNR Division of Water (Fountain Square, Columbus, OH 43224); U.S. Geological Survey Ohio District (975 W. Third Ave., Columbus, OH 43212); Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (1800 WaterMark Drive, Columbus, OH 43266); and Ohio Department of Health (PO Box 118, Columbus, OH 43226).
If you have other factual county water-resources information that might be of interest to the public, please send copies to the author of this publication at the Pickaway County Extension office.
Central Ohio Water Plan. 1977. ODNR Division of Water.
Gazetteer of Ohio Streams. 1960. Ohio Water Inventory Report No. 12. ODNR Division of Water.
Groundwater. 1974. Staff Research Report No. 115, December 1974. Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
Ground-Water Resources of Pickaway County. 1991. J.J. Schmidt. ODNR Division of Water. (map).
Interpreting Your Water Test Report. 1988. Lundstrom and Fundingsland, North Dakota State University Extension Service.
Inventory of Municipal Water-Supply Systems by County, Ohio. 1977. Ohio Water Inventory Report No. 24. ODNR Division of Water.
Inventory of Ohio's Lakes. 1980. Ohio Water Inventory Report No. 26. ODNR Division of Water.
Monthly Normals of Temperature, Precipitation and Heating and Cooling Degree Days for Period 1951-80, Ohio. 1982. Climatography of the United States, No. 81 (by state). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Nitrate and Pesticides in Private Wells of Ohio: A State Atlas. 1989. Water Quality Laboratory, Heidelberg College.
Nitrate In Drinking Water. 1987. K.M. Mancl. Bulletin No. 744. Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, The Ohio State University.
Ohio Ground-Water Quality. USGS National Water Summary - Ohio. 1986. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2325.
Ohio Ground-Water Resources. USGS National Water Summary - Ohio. 1984. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2275.
Ohio Surface-Water Resources. USGS National Water Summary - Ohio. 1985. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2300.
Ohio's Hydrologic Cycle. 1990. L.C. Brown and K.M. Coltman. AEX-461. Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, The Ohio State University.
Ohio Data Users Center. 1990. U.S. Bureau of Census.
Pickaway County Ground-Water Resources. 1992. D.A. Mangione, J.M. Raab, K.M. Boone and L.C. Brown. AEX-490.65. Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, The Ohio State University.
Pickaway County, Ohio Soil Survey. 1987. USDA-Soil Conservation Service.
Private Water Systems Handbook. 1987. MWPS-14. Midwest Plan Service, Ames, IA. (Available through your county Extension office).
Soil and Water Conservation District Resource Inventory. 1982. USDA-Soil Conservation Service.
Surface and Ground Water Terminology. 1990. L.C. Brown and L.P. Black., AEX-460. Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, The Ohio State University.
Water - Ohio's Remarkable Resource. 1982. ODNR Division of Water.
Well Permits Issued For New Installations For Private Water Systems. 1992. W.L. Ingalls, D.V.M., M.S. Health Commissioner. Pickaway County General Health District.
This publication was produced through the Ohio Water Resources Education Project, in cooperation with: ODNR Division of Water; Ohio EPA; U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Ohio District; and Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Project leaders are Larry C. Brown and Kristina M. Boone. Support was provided, in part, by: the cooperating agencies; Pickaway County Extension Office; Overholt Drainage Education and Research Program; and USDA Extension Service Grant No. 90-EWQI-1-9018.
The project leaders express appreciation to the following reviewers: Dan Garver (USDA-Soil Conservation Service); Gary Young and William L. Ingalls (Pickaway County General Health District); James M. Raab, David Cashell and Leonard Black (ODNR Division of Water); Scott Golden (Environmental Health, ODH); Jim Papritan (Agricultural Engineering, OSU); Larry Antosch (Ohio EPA Division of Water Quality Planning and Assessment); and Linnea Saukko (Ohio EPA Division of Drinking and Ground Water).
A special thanks to Michelle Roby and Ross A. Roberts (Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Assistants) for help in manuscript and graphics preparation, and Judy Kauffeld and Tonya Ewing (Section of Communications & Technology, OSU Extension), for editorial and graphic production.
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.
TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868