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Environmental Monitoring by Thomas Kwader, Ph.D., P.G. Another Reason Groundwater is the Preferred Source of Potable Water I’mwriting this article a few days after banning the use of potable water from Lake Erie. This lake water is the source of potable water for 500,000 people in parts of northwest Ohio and northeastern Michigan. The water was determined in early August to be unfit for human con- sumption due to the presence of the biological organism “microcystis”. Micro- cystis can be very harmful - the recom- mended maximum contaminant level for drinking water is 1 part per billion (ppb). One part per billion is equal to 1 second in 37 years, or one drop of water in an Olympic-size swimming pool. Boiling the water does not treat it to potable use levels. My first thoughts are of sorrow for all the folks out of water for drinking, cooking, showering, etc., and how it will interrupt their daily routine and the poten- tial health hazard coming out of their own faucet. Some of these people will never trust their own source of drinking water again. I also think of the owner/ operators of these systems - with no alternative water source and all of the contaminated water lines affected. There is little doubt the problem is the result of increased nutrient levels in the lake from stormwater runoff, fertilizers, and possibly sewage. Ironically, I’m sure there are many homes throughout this area that have their own wells which are not impacted by this surface water crisis and can actually supply water safely to those in need of drinking water. Groundwater and wells have many advantages over surface water as a potable source of water supply. Ground- water is generally clean, filtered, and isolated from surface sources of con- tamination. Wells are generally drilled to a sufficient depth to not be in direct recharge to surface sources of bacteria (generally a minimum of 50-100 feet deep). Groundwater is also relatively con- stant in temperature, clear, low in turbidi- ty, and reliable as a supply, even during drought periods. Another advantage of groundwater is, municipalities having multiple wells can isolate a well that may become contaminated and take the well “offline” while continuing to serve all areas on the system. This is another reason we as ground- water professionals need to continue to fight against attempts to ban the use of private wells and forcing citizens to con- nect to large water systems. Tom Tom Kwader may be contacted via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 24 OCTOBER 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Now available from WWDR ! Call 850-547-0102 or e-mail admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com MARKETING GUIDES