USGS Groundwater Study in the Williston Basin
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Academic
United States Geological Survey Scientists are Conducting Groundwater Studies to Determine If Water Quality Could be Affected by Hydraulic Fracturing
In coordination with the water-quality studies, the USGS is conducting a groundwater availability study—the Williston and Powder River Basin's Ground water availability study—as part of a larger, national effort to look at major aquifers throughout the nation.
"Our agency is interested in getting a better understanding of some of the flow processes, what stressors might be out there and what might be the possible reactions to certain stressors in the environment," said Joanna Thamke, a hydrologist at USGS.
Past studies have been performed in the early 1980s, but, according to Thamke, the shallow aquifers being used by people in the area of the study were all lumped into one aquifer layer causing results to be very general. The current USGS study is more specific with seven geological units that will be modeled within three principle aquifer systems: the glacial systems at the surface which cover roughly 40 percent of the Williston Basin, and the two underlying bedrock aquifer systems below the glacial system.
Research for the study began in late 2011, and the USGS is collaborating with state and the provincial agencies which allow the sharing of data collected by the agencies in the recent years.
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