Benjamin V. Miller Amy M. Hourigan Brian C. Ham 20250930 vector digital data https://doi.org/10.5066/P14MPRSF Karst hydrologic systems are important resources in the state of Tennessee, both as drinking water resources and as centers for possible biological diversity. These systems are susceptible to contamination due to the inherent connectivity between surface water and groundwater systems in karst systems. A partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) was formed to investigate karst spring systems across the state utilizing fluorescent groundwater tracing, particularly in areas where these resources may be used as drinking water sources. In fall 2021, USGS and TDEC staff identified possible vulnerabilities or complexities that may exist within karst spring systems based upon maturity of karst development, underlying geology, and uncertainties related to estimated recharge areas. Based upon initial research, several study areas were selected and fieldwork started in March 2022. In Water Year 2024 (10/1/2023-9/30/2024) dye tracing was conducted in the communities of Caryville, Lafayette, Morristown, Mount Pleasant, and Vanleer. Collectively these communities span multiple physiographic regions including the Western and Eastern Highland Rim, and the Valley and Ridge Province. Each of these communities rely on karst groundwater as a drinking water source. Additionally, these are all areas where the hydrology has been significantly altered by karst processes and thus the groundwater pathways are complex and unpredictable. This data release contains shapefiles of injection locations, monitoring sites, and dye traces conducted during the 2024 Water Year throughout Tennessee in communities that utilize karst groundwater as a drinking water source. All files were created in ArcGIS Pro and each shapefile contains associated attributes for the features contained within. Layer files are included with the datasets to match symbology found in figures in the accompanying report. All shapefiles and layers were created and modified in ArcGIS software. For a full description of the methods used to create these files, see Process Steps in the metadata file, "TN_WY24_Metadata.xml”. Data within each child item of this data release are named with a two-letter abbreviation unique for the community where the tracing occurred and the water year when the work was conducted (e.g. LF24). Abbreviations for the communities are as follows: CR = Caryville, LF = Lafayette, MR = Morristown, MP = Mount Pleasant, and VN = Vanleer. Karst groundwater tracing with fluorescent dyes was conducted in and near communities in Tennessee, who utilize karst groundwater as a drinking water source, in order to better understand the movement and flow path directions of karst groundwater and to provide insights to surface water-groundwater interactions. Data contained within the zip file that contains all of the data in the data release can be extracted using software such as WinZip or 7-Zip. The layer files included in the dataset can be used in ESRI ArcGIS Pro or QGIS software to display symbology for the dye tracing dataset. 20231001 20240930 ground condition Complete None planned -87.5494 -83.2344 36.6599 35.4348 None karst hydrology dye tracing Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation springs USGS Thesaurus karst groundwater groundwater and surface-water interaction groundwater flow hydrogeology freshwater ecosystems Alexandria Digital Library Feature Type Thesaurus karst areas caves USGS Metadata Identifier USGS:679a66f7d34ea8c18376ee32 None Caryville Lafayette Morristown Mount Pleasant Vanleer Campbell County Macon County Hamblen County Jefferson County Maury County Lewis County Dickson County Eastern Highland Rim Physiographic Province Western Highland Rim Physiographic Province Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province Common geographic areas Tennessee None. Please see 'Distribution Info' for details. Although these data have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Department of the Interior, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of this data, software, or related materials. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This dataset may be redistributed if it is not edited and is properly referenced. Although USGS intends to make this server available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, timely delivery of data and products from this server through the Internet is not guaranteed. Benjamin V Miller USGS - SOUTHEAST REGION Physical Scientist mailing and physical

640 Grassmere Park Dr.

Nashville TN 37211 615-837-4730 bvmiller@usgs.gov Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted. No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted. Data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details. Point data related to monitoring sites and dye injection locations were collected via handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) while in the field. Positional accuracy was greater than 8 meters at the time of data collection. Nico Goldscheider Joe Meiman Michiel Pronk Christopher Smart 200801 publication International Journal of Speleology vol. 37, issue 1 n/a University of South Florida Libraries pp. 27-40 https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.37.1.3 Digital and/or Hardcopy 200801 publication date Goldscheider and others, 2008 Publication relevant to the Process Step methodology. Crawford Hydrology Laboratory 202310 publication Bowling Green, Kentucky Western Kentucky University https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qGl76vkJB4ayBCT5LMJ6fwEd1X7hN1gx/view Digital and/or Hardcopy 202310 ground condition Crawford Hydrology Laboratory, 2023 Methods of fluorometric analysis Karst Hydrologic Inventory In any dye tracing investigation, the first step is to conduct a Karst Hydrologic Inventory (KHI) of the surrounding landscape. This first involves examination of geologic and topographic maps, consultation with local experts regarding caves, springs, and sinking stream, and a literature review related to any previous studies conducted in the area. Field visits are made to locate important discharge features such as springs, seeps, cave streams, and surface streams. These are features that may be utilized as monitoring sites for dye. If the site is selected for use as a monitoring site, then charcoal packets are placed, photos taken of the feature, GPS location collected, and in some cases sketch maps drawn. Water chemistry data may be collected using a field meter, if the sources of water to a monitoring location is uncertain (groundwater versus surface water, or a combination of both). In addition to locating discharge features during the KHI, recharge features (losing or sinking streams, swallets, sinkholes, cave entrances) may be documented for later use as a dye injection location. Goldscheider and others, 2008 20240930 Benjamin V Miller USGS - SOUTHEAST REGION Physical Scientist mailing and physical

640 Grassmere Park Dr.

Nashville TN 37211 615-837-4730 bvmiller@usgs.gov Monitoring The predominant method for monitoring used in dye tracing is typically placement of charcoal packets (also known as dye receptors or “bugs”). Charcoal packets consist of screen or a milksock which contains crushed coconut charcoal that are then sealed. When packets or receptors are deployed in the field they are attached to a weight and wire that are tied to the streambank. The packets are placed directly in the flow of a particular feature (stream, spring, cave, etc.) so that as much of the water passes by the packet as possible. Packets are exchanged at timed intervals to help determine travel time from dye injection location to recovery at a monitoring site. In this study, exchange intervals were days to weeks post-injection. Intervals differ among study area based on variables like accessibility of monitoring sites. Changed packets are placed in sealed plastic bags labeled with the station id number, station name, date, time, and the initials of the person changing the packet. Anytime charcoal packets are handled, a new pair of nitrile gloves are used to prevent cross contamination amongst monitoring sites or from any dye injection location. 20240930 Benjamin V Miller USGS - SOUTHEAST REGION Physical Scientist mailing and physical

640 Grassmere Park Dr.

Nashville TN 37211 615-837-4730 bvmiller@usgs.gov Dye Injections Dye injections typically utilize four different fluorescent dyes in karst groundwater tracing; Fluorescein, Eosine OJ, Rhodamine WT, and Sulphorhodamine B (Goldscheider and others, 2008). Each of these dyes has a unique emission wavelength that can be identified via fluorometric analysis. If flowing water is present at an injection location, then the dye is poured directly into the stream. If no flowing water is present at an injection site, then powdered dye is placed inside a culvert or a PVC pipe staked to the streambed, known as a dry set. The powdered dye will then be injected following the next rain event large enough to create overland flow. In urbanized areas or at roadside locations fire tanker trucks or fire hydrants may be used, pre- or post-injection of dye, to either prime or flush the injection site if no flowing water is present. Because of the high concentrations of the dye and the low detection capabilities of most analytical labs, care must be taken to avoid cross contamination from the injection location to a monitoring site. For this reason, dye suits, gloves, and shoe covers are often worn by the person injecting dye and bleach wipes used post-injection ensure that any small traces of dye are removed from hands, wrists, or shoes. Most dyes are preferred in liquid form, to decrease transferability, though in some cases powdered dye may be used for dry sets or sites requiring long hikes or in-cave injection sites. The amount of dye injected at a particular location is determined by the distance from the target monitoring site, proximity to other higher intensity dyes, and the amount of water both at an injection feature and that at the target monitoring site. 20240930 Benjamin V Miller USGS - SOUTHEAST REGION Physical Scientist mailing and physical

640 Grassmere Park Dr.

Nashville TN 37211 615-837-4730 bvmiller@usgs.gov Establishing Positive Traces Following retrieval of the dye receptors, processing and analysis were conducted at the Crawford Hydrology Lab in Bowling Green, Kentucky, by spectrofluorophotometer using established protocols (Crawford Hydrology Laboratory, 2023). Once positive traces were confirmed, results were plotted in a geographic information system (GIS) spatial framework to begin associating injections sites to monitoring sites with flow path lines. Crawford Hydrology Laboratory, 2023 20240930 Benjamin V Miller USGS - SOUTHEAST REGION Physical Scientist mailing and physical

640 Grassmere Park Dr.

Nashville TN 37211 615-837-4730 bvmiller@usgs.gov Universal Transverse Mercator 16 0.9996 -87.0 0.0 500000.0 0.0 coordinate pair 0.6096 0.6096 meters North_American_Datum_1983 GRS 1980 6378137.0 298.257222101 U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase GS ScienceBase mailing address

Denver Federal Center

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Denver CO 80225 United States 1-888-275-8747 sciencebase@usgs.gov Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Digital Data https://doi.org/10.5066/P14MPRSF None 20250610 Benjamin V Miller USGS - SOUTHEAST REGION Physical Scientist mailing and physical

640 Grassmere Park Dr.

Nashville TN 37211 615-837-4730 bvmiller@usgs.gov FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998