Pumping an Artesian Source for Water Table Control

Pumping tests conducted on an artesian aquifer in the Red River Valley of North Dakota indicate that water table control can be provided for the overlying water logged and saline agricultural lands at an estimated pumping cost of $0.34 per acre ($0.84 per ha) per yr. Because the fine-textured overburden is more than 100 ft (30 ms) thick and has a very low vertical hydraulic conductivity, continuous pumping (year around) will be necessary. By reducing the artesian pressure, the upward flow of saline water will be stopped, the water table in the leaky overburden will be reestablished at a greater depth, and salts can be leached from the root zone by precipitation. Even though the water pumped from the artesian aquifer is saline, the amount would be small enough that its discharge into the Red River of the North at probable low flow would not make the river water unsuitable for domestic use.