Varied Solutions to Groundwater Problems — Four Case Histories

The time has passed when witching, drilling a test hole and finding good formation is adequate to site a new well for a drinking water supply. Quality, quantity, and aquifer management must all be thoroughly evaluated when developing or expanding a groundwater supply. Four case histories are described that do just that. New appropriations for groundwater rights in the Garden City, Kansas area have been frozen for several years. A public-private partnership between Wheatland Electric Cooperative and the City of Garden City was used to solve local problems with water rights and water quality. Wheatland converted existing industrial water rights and constructed a 6.5-MGD reverse osmosis blended treatment plant to sell water to potential customers. Several customers are now being served and there has been interest by several industries in buying water. Economic development in the Garden City community is back on track because of the availability of good quality groundwater, properly managed. The water levels in the Equus Beds, a prolific groundwater supply providing the majority of water for Wichita, Kansas, have been dropping for several years. This drop in groundwater levels was causing saline water to be drawn into the aquifer from the north and southwest, causing deteriorating water quality. Several alternatives were evaluated, including aquifer storage and recovery (ASR). Several ASR alternatives were evaluated in this multi-year demonstration project, to determine the best method to store excess flows from the Little Arkansas River. It is planned to store and recover both surface water from induced infiltration and treated surface water, thus blocking chlorides from local supplies. Wichita can continue to develop because of an adequate quantity of good quality groundwater, properly managed for the City and their neighbors. Lake Havasu City, Arizona has provided water to its citizens since it was incorporated in 1973. Their groundwater supply exceeded secondary drinking water standards for manganese, and the taps of water users often flowed black. Citizens voted to develop a new water treatment plant to remove manganese and arsenic, a constituent also found that exceeded drinking water standards. The nation's first manganese removal plant to use biological filtration was built and can provide up to 26-MGD of good quality water. This City of 50,000 can continue their rapid growth partially because they now have good quality water with adequate quantity for many years. Union County, Arkansas had realized for many years that their groundwater supply, the Sparta Aquifer, was rapidly dewatering. A County Groundwater Conservation District was established and a means of financing formulated. The final master plan recommended using surface water from the nearby Ouachita River to supply local industrial users with process and cooling water, leaving the Sparta aquifer for municipal and domestic supply. A countywide sales tax, voted to sunset in seven years, helped pay for construction. Union County now owns and operates a river intake, pretreatment facility, pumping station, and many miles of large water lines. Management of their water resources has saved both Union County and the Sparta from extinction.