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SOONER MAGAZINE

Research is being conducted at the landfill bythe Environntental/Ground Water Institute .

Ground WaterA Matter of Survival

B eneath the High Plains of Ne-braska through Kansas toColorado and the Panhandleregions of Oklahoma and Texas lies abody of water which, since the 1930s,has turned the flat, barren land intoan agricultural belt supporting 20percent of all the food production inthe United States - and has provideddrinking water for residents of thoseareas as well .Today, this underground zone of

water - known as the Ogallalaaquifer - is imperiled by overuse andthe looming specter of pollution .The threat to the Ogallala is not an

isolated problem . Food, energy andthe economic health of the entirecountry and of much of the world isendangered by depletion and pollu-tion of this most abundant knownsource offresh water - ground water .How serious is the dependence of

the U .S . economy on the water thatrests below the earth's surface? An

Environmentalengineers are

taking the lead instudies to combatdepletion and

pollution of ourmost preciousburied treasure.

By CATHERINE BISHOP

estimated 50 percent of the popula-tion is directly dependent on groundwater as a source of drinking water,while agricultural irrigation con-sumes more than 70 percent of all theground water used . Little wonder

that many scientists and tech-nologists perceive ground water to bethe most vital environmental issue ofthe 1980s . Many of them also believethat anxiety over ground water man-agement and related concerns willheighten and possibly reach crisisproportions within the next 20 years .To address the problem, a dedicated

team of teachers and researchers atthe University of Oklahoma is train-ing engineers, geologists, and otherscientists to work in this field, and isconducting research that may findanswers to many of the critical ques-tions surrounding ground watermanagement, protection and utiliza-tion .The Environmental and Ground

Water Institute was formed at theUniversity of Oklahoma in July 1982,under the direction of Larry Canter,an OU professor of civil engineeringand environmental science who hasattained national and international

Graduate assistant George-Deeley (left) andassistantprofessor Gary Miller checkthe movement ofpollutants through soil samples in the environmental chamber.

stature as a specialist in environ-mental engineering, ground waterand environmental impact assess-ment. The team which he has assem-bled is well-suited to the task and in-cludes a biologist/chemist, GaryMiller ; an environmental engineer,Robert Knox ; a soil microbiologist,Deborah Fairchild; a chemist, RitaKamat; and a technical writer/editor,Ralph Martin.Also involved in the effort are the

personnel and resources of OU's Sci-ence and Public Policy program, di-rected by Michael Devine, and theOklahoma Geological Survey,through its associate director, Ken-neth S. Johnson.The new OU institute, the first or-

ganized research unit to be formed bythe College of Engineering, includesthe U.S . Environmental ProtectionAgency's National Center for GroundWater Research, which has been lo-cated at OU since 1979 and also isdirected by Canter . The environ-mental impact and ground water re-search projects already being con-ducted by the Institute will tie in withthe programs of OU's new EnergyCenter .Many ground water issues involved

in Institute research impact directlyon energy industries, and a partner-ship between the University and pri-vate enterprise is being formed to ad-dress this environmental concern.Sun Company of Radnar, Pennsyl-vania, is in the process of endowing aprofessorship in ground water hydrol-ogy at OU. Sun's endowment will en-rich both the teaching and researchactivities of the School of Civil En-gineering and Environmental Sci-ence, which has had groundwater/environmental impact studiesunder way since 1970 .Concern about the quantity and

quality of ground water is not uniqueto Oklahoma, the Southwest or theUnited States . In most industrializednations, including the United States,interest is focused largely on appro-priate management of this vital re-source, while developing countrieshave concentrated on provision ofwater supplies . However, Canter be-lieves that even in less developedsocieties, pollution is commanding in-creasing attention worldwide.

Ground water problems fall gener-ally into twomain categories, naturaland man-made pollution and resourceextraction . Resource extraction, in

Environmental impact andground water researchprojects already beingconducted will tie inwith the programs ofOU's new Energy Center.

Larry Canter (left) and Miller preparenew soil samples for the chamber.

turn, can lead to salt or saline waterintrusion, land subsidence, andground water mining or depletion, re-sulting from the withdrawal of waterfrom an aquifer at a rate greater thanits natural rate of replenishment.The Ogallala aquifer, which sup-

plies water to Oklahoma, Nebraska,Texas, Kansas and Colorado, is a fre-quently cited example of resource de-pletion . However, Canter notes thatmost states have localized areaswhere similar depletion of groundwater is occurring due to wells beingplaced too close together or pumpingrates that are too high for those par-ticular wells.Over-pumping of a fresh water

aquifer can result in salt water intru-sion, a common problem along the At-lantic and Gulf coasts, while landsubsidence has become a problem insome areas where ground water min-ing has occurred, such as in Houstonand parts of Arizona and California .

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WYOMING I

COLORADO

NEW MEXICO

I

SOUTH DAKOTA

L

KANSAS

OKLAHOMA

o 50 100 150MILEST 1 10 50 100 150NiLOME7EN5

13

103" 1- 101 IW vs°

Location of High Plains aquifer .

ve° s

Poor ground water quality can becaused by natural geological condi-tions which allow the introduction ofinorganics and metals . But more im-portant to the energy industry are thenumerous man-made sources ofground water pollution, including in-appropriate waste disposal practices .

"The potential for ground waterpollution," Canter says, "exists fromabandoned and unplugged oil and gaswells, improperly completed wells,poorly designed brine disposal wellsand poorly located off-site disposalpits for brine waters and drillingfluids and muds ."The cleaning up of polluted aqui-

fers is one of the possibilities beingexamined by the Environmental andGround Water Institute researchersto reverse the depletion of groundwater resources . Their objectives areto define those state-of-the-artclean-up technologies and determinethe cost .

"For a long time, people in theUnited States thought once an aqui-fer was polluted, it could no longer be

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SOONER MAGAZINE

used," Canter explains . "Yet, therehave to be certain contaminated aqui-fers that can be economically cleanedup with the application of appropriatetechnology ."

In addition to cleaning up pollutedaquifers, Canter suggests three otherground water depletion safeguards,the first of which is implementationof water use conservation programs ."We also can try to increase the

rate of natural replenishment by theuse of artificial recharge," he con-tinues . "Here we actually try to pro-mote water going into the ground andbecoming a part of the ground waterresource through the construction ofvarious types of man-made lakes."The third safeguard involves better

planning of resource use . When a welldrilling permit is being issued, for ex-ample, Canter would insist that in-dustry personnel and city plannersconsider the implications of wellfields and spacing of wells .However central the problem is to

OU researchers, ground water pollu-tion from oil and gas production is

ABOVE: Canter reads a telegram just received by technicaltypist Leslie Rard . Contact with professionals in environ-mental impact assessment is a top Institute priority .

AT LEFT: The U.S. Geological Survey diagram graphicallyillustrates the vital importance of the Ogallala aquifer .

only one element in the ever-presentdanger of contamination ."The old philosophy that ground

water is pure just isn't necessarilytrue, Canter says, noting that groundwater contamination is largely a re-sult of previous improper waste dis-posal practices . "One of the mostcommon sources of ground water pol-lution is improperly located and im-properly designed septic tank sys-tems."

Additional sources of contamina-tion are revealed with alarming reg-ularity in the daily newspapers : apesticide that once was an ally to cit-rus growers becomes an enemy gain-ing strength in ground water sources,while poisons from toxic waste dumpswage chemical warfare in the nation'swater supply .While the OU researcher does not

claim to be an authority on federalcontrol vs . states' rights, Canter doessee a need for federal initiative toprovide general direction for groundwater management in the UnitedStates .

"Federal initiatives should providea framework so that all states canconform to certain general ap-proaches to monitoring ground watermanagement," he contends .Canter insists that each state has

its own unique problems and that thestate itself needs to address them."Each state should develop a groundwater quality management plan andbegin to implement it," he says .One of the problems with ground

water quality management is themultiple federal, state and localagencies that have jurisdictional re-sponsibility in that area .

"Federal agencies charged withsome responsibility in regard toground water are estimated tonumber 40," he explains . In Okla-homa alone, at least a half dozenagencies oversee some aspect ofground water .With the current emphasis being

given to ground water issues, and theattention which these issues willcommand in the coming years, manycareer opportunities exist and moreare expected for ground water pro-fessionals both in the private sectorand in governmental agencies .OU has taken a leadership role in

responding to this educational needby developing academic programsbeyond traditional geology and en-vironmental engineering curricula .The University now offers graduate

programs in ground water qualitymanagement designed to equip stu-dents to address this vital environ-mental concern by providing addi-tional training in hydrogeology,ground water chemistry and micro-biology, ground water pollution con-trol, subsurface water quality model-ing, and ground water quality man-agement .The nationwide implications of en-

vironmental issues make com-municating with other professionalsin the field of environmental impactassessment a top priority for Canterand his colleagues. As a result, theirstudies are shared with scientists andengineers throughout the UnitedStates and in other countries throughthe presentation of research papersand the publication of a new bi-monthly publication, the Environ-mental Impact Assessment World-letter, a joint endeavor with the Uni-versity of Aberdeen in Scotland .

Canter (right) reviews ongoing research with staffers Leslie Rard (left), RobertKnox, Debby Fairchild, Ralph Martin, Gary Miller, Seshu Dharmavaram .

The EIA Worldletter, which is air-mailed to subscribers in some 30countries, provides an informal, rapidcommunication link between en-vironmental impact assessment pro-fessionals ."Environmental impact assessment

is the means by which all countries,developing and developed, evaluatethe impact of major developments onthe natural environment and on theeconomic and social aspects of the en-vironment," says Canter, who is asenior editor of the newsletter .

Canter's counterpart at the Uni-versity of Aberdeen's Centre for En-vironmental Management and Plan-ning, Co-Editor Brian D . Clark, seesWorldletter as an important net-working device to help people in de-veloping and developed countrieskeep in touch .The EIA Worldletter staff and con-

tributors worldwide will be reviewingnewly available EIA information, in-cluding technical reports, news-letters, journals and private and gov-ernmental publications that will becondensed and rewritten to provide atopical, timely awareness letter foractive participants in the EIA field .Among international environ-

mental concerns, for example, is thepotential long-term effect of acid rainon ground water and soil chemistry ."When acid rain is mentioned, the

immediate focus of attention goes tolakes and the fish and other aquaticlife that are dead or dying," Cantersays. "That's the immediate, obviouseffect of acid rain . The longer-term,more subtle effect of acid rain couldbe associated with soil chemistry -in particular, changes in the patterns

of retention of certain chemicals inthe soil ."Another long-term implication of

acid rain is its effect on ground water,and Canter contends that the need forfurther study in this area is critical .While the OU researchers spend a

major portion oftheir time looking foranswers to problems beneath theearth's surface, they are also in-tensely interested in the air aroundthem .

"Air quality is of vital concern,"Canter says . "Pollutants continue tobe introduced into the atmosphere atalarmingly increasing amounts."

Unfortunately, since air has lim-ited dispersion capabilities, pollutionknows no national boundaries, onereason why environmentalists shouldbe concerned about standards for allcountries ."Many countries simply do not

have air pollution standards," Canterexplains . "I would not be surprised towitness a major air pollution disasterwith some major health effects ."One of the most graphic demon-

strations of the worldwide transfer ofair pollutants was the transportationof volcanic ash from Mount St .Helens . Scientists can cite evidence tosupport the theory that a parcel ofairtravels around the world in 30 days,and that a complete exchange of airoccurs from the northern to thesouthern hemisphere every twoyears .

Canter calls the worldwide scope ofground, air and water pollution "ourshrinking earth," and he accepts thechallenges of preserving, yet utiliz-ing, its resources as the environ-mental engineer's responsibility .

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