Water Well Journal
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/557876
cisco Bay area, and Sacramento. Nearly a quarter of the Mississippi Embayment groundwater produces food for New Orleans. Food grown from the High Plains aquifer is dispersed to metropoli- tan areas around the country. Since 2007—the latest year available for the study—it is likely even more groundwater has been taken out of the Central Valley aquifer to grow crops, said Heather Cooley, the water program director for the Pacific Institute. "We know when there's a drought, we're pumping a lot more ground- water," Cooley said. "We're probably even more dependent on groundwater than we were back then." But the Central Valley aquifer, along with the High Plains aquifer and the Mississippi Embayment aquifer, are being used much faster than nature is refilling them. Governors Release Paper on Shale Energy and Drinking Water Following on the heels of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's draft study on drinking water and hy- draulic fracturing, the National Gover- nors Association (NGA) released the results of a workgroup on how states can protect drinking water resources amid an increase in shale energy development. The report "State Practices to Protect Drinking Water While Developing Shale Energy" highlighted many of the core principles outlined in NGWA's position paper on hydraulic fracturing and pro- tecting groundwater resources. NGA noted the importance of well integrity, monitoring of groundwater before and after, and efforts to reduce the amount of drinking water used in hydraulic frac- turing. A strong state role in regulating shale energy development was also highlighted. The study from NGA continues to highlight the importance of protecting groundwater as a drinking water source and reinforces those principles outlined in NGWA's position paper on this subject. Declining Water Levels Pose Challenges for Idaho Aquifer Monitoring Water levels reached all-time lows in 177 wells used to monitor the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer last summer at and near the Idaho National Labora- tory (INL). As the region goes through its third year of drought, U.S. Geologi- cal Survey scientists, working in coop- eration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), have assessed factors in- fluencing water-level declines and how future declines might jeopardize some wells in the monitoring network. They published their findings on June 29. Scientists examined how close water levels were to the depth of well pumps—a level at which the wells would no longer be usable. They also analyzed geophysical data for the wells to determine how future declines might affect well productivity, the amount of water that could be pumped. The monitoring well network is es- sential to the DOE's ability to meet its compliance and surveillance objectives, as well as federal and state regulations. Key findings from the USGS study include: • Two monitoring wells have gone dry in the past year. While the study was underway, the water level in one well dropped below the well's pump. A second well south of the INL dating back to the early 1920s is completely dry. • Water levels in 11 other monitoring wells are within 10 feet of well pumps. These wells are at risk of be- coming unusable if the region experi- ences an extended drought similar to the period between 2000-2005 when aquifer water levels declined about 10 feet. • Water levels in an additional 28 mon- itoring wells are within 20 feet of well pumps. This depth is significant because water levels in some wells in the northern part of the INL site have declined as much as 20 feet in the last 14 years. • Production wells used for water sup- ply at the INL site are not at risk of running dry because of their greater depths. "Declining water levels could affect our ability to monitor and understand the aquifer," said Roy Bartholomay, a scientist in charge of the USGS project office at the INL. "To keep some of these wells active, we may need to deepen the wells and pumps, which could be very expensive. We may need to decide whether to keep some wells in the monitoring network." Data from the INL monitoring well network are available at http://id.water .usgs.gov/INL. Kentucky Park Plans Upcoming Groundwater Exhibit A new exhibit promoting education about groundwater will be featured in the fall at Jacobson Park in Lexing- ton, Kentucky. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the exhibit will be a Livestream project that is part of a LexArts EcoART grant program, which began in 2009, to "edu- cate the public about environmental issues through art," said Nathan Zamarron, community arts manager for LexArts. Six artists were commissioned by LexArts to "produce environmentally based art" that generates development of several new art projects, one of which is the Livestream project. The article reports the artists are developing a "sculptural installation within the landscape" that will consist of 20 pipes to create a wave-like struc- ture coming out of the ground. The installation will be broken into four clusters representing the different geographical regions of Kentucky and will use data collected by monitoring stations set up around natural springs throughout Kentucky. The stations will transmit data collected to Kentucky Ge- ological Survey's Groundwater Data Repository and will measure pH levels, conductivity, temperature, water levels, discharge, and turbidity. NEWS from page 11 waterwelljournal.com 12 September 2015 WWJ