GROUND WATER FLOW AND RUNOFF IN A COASTAL PLAIN STREAM1

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Abstract
The quantity, seasonality, and sources of flow were analyzed for two segments of Four Mile Branch, a small stream on the Coastal Plain of South Carolina using data obtained from USGS gauging stations. Flows in the “upstream segment,” a 12.6‐km2 watershed comprising the head waters of Four Mile Branch, averaged 0.129 m3 s−1 and showed a distinctly seasonal pattern, with maximum flows in February and March and minimum flows in September and October. Inflow to the “downstream segment,” a 2.2‐km2 watershed associated with the main channel, averaged 0.059 m3 s−1 and showed no seasonal patterns. Discharges per unit area of watershed were greater for the downstream segment, 0.83 m3 per year per m2 of land surface, than for the upstream segment, 0.32 m3 per year per m2. The differences in discharge rates and seasonalities between the two segments reflect differences in aquifers supplying the different segments. Analyses of Streamflow by hydrograph separation and Streamflow partitioning methods indicated that greater than 90 percent of the flows in the upstream and downstream segments were due to ground water‐driven base flows.

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