GROUND WATER IN NORTH-CENTRAL TENNESSEE

134 GROUND WATER IN NORTH-CENTRAL TENNESSEE
Leipers and Catheys formations. Some perennial tubular springs also
exist in the limestones of this part of the county, particularly in the
Hermitage formation in the vicinity of Nashville. Most of these
springs, however, discharge only a few gallons of water a minute in
the dry season and in general are much less reliable than the springs
of the Highland Rim escarpment. No potable water has been found
at depths exceeding 200 feet except in a very few wells, and hence
deep drilling for water is not generally advisable. In well 313, for
example, no water-bearing beds were penetrated below a depth of 101
feet to a depth of 409 feet, even though the well is on the crest of a
ridge about 300 feet high. The few deep wells that have been drilled
Nos. 295, 298, 299, and 303 pass through the deepest beds that
carry fresh water less than 200 feet below the surface; below these
beds they penetrate only dense limestone to the St. Peter (?) sandstone
at a depth of about 1,100 feet. The St. Peter (?) sandstone, however,
contains water that is too highly concentrated to be satisfactory for
many uses, as is shown by analyses 295 and 298 (pp. 114-115).
The static level of the water carried by the St. Peter (?) sandstone
is about 510 feet above sea level in the vicinity of Nashville, so that
flowing wells, such as Nos. 295 and 298, can be obtained in the lower
land along the Cumberland River. However, the specific capacity of
the wells seems to be rather small.
Descriptive data for typical wells and springs in Davidson County
are tabulated on the following pages, and the driller's record of the
strata penetrated by well 295 is given on page 59. The chemical
character of the ground waters is shown by representative analyses
tabulated on pages 114-117.