Aquifer Plume Study of Mixed Population Nitrate Data Using ArcGIS

The City of Enid collects most of its water for public distribution from groundwater. This groundwater is supplied from five wellfields covering the Enid Terrace Aquifer, the Drummond Confined Aquifer, and the Central Oklahoma Aquifer. The five wellfields include Enid Wellfield, Drummond Wellfield, Cleo Springs Wellfield, Ringwood Wellfield, and Ames Wellfield. This research explores nitrate distribution in the aquifer by analyzing breakthrough curves for the wells and estimating nitrate plumes for the wellfields. The Environmental Protection Agency requires that all public water have a nitrate concentration of less than 10 mg/L as this level causes Blue Baby Syndrome in infants. Information for this study was provided in the form of sampling data compiled by the City of Enid. This raw data was then analyzed and distilled to determine nitrate existence and extent using Environmental Protection Agency standards. This paper presents a methodology to delineate the high nitrate plumes in five wellfields.