263-3 A university-community college partnership to help private well owners with groundwater quality challenges while increasing geoscience recruiting

Session: Exploring Groundwater Recharge and Management: Managed Aquifer Recharge and Other Innovative Tools for Water Supply Development and Operations (Posters)

Poster Booth No.: 74

Presenting Author:

Thisura Indralal

Authors:

Indralal, Thisura¹, Avocat, Helene², Alliband, Amanda³, Rogers, Sherry⁴, Sloan, Richard⁵, Puthalath, Saranya⁶, Stotler, Randy L.⁷, Kirk, Matthew F.⁸

(1) Kansas State University, Department of Geology, MANHATTAN, KS, USA, (2) Kansas State University, Department of Geography, MANHATTAN, KS, USA, (3) Barton Community College, Great Bend, kansas, USA, (4) Dodge City Community College, Dodge City, Kansas, USA, (5) Barton Community College, Great Bend, Kansas, USA, (6) Kansas State University, Department of Geology, MANHATTAN, KS, USA, (7) University of Waterloo, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Waterloo, ON, Canada, (8) Kansas State University, Department of Geology, Manhattan, KS, USA,

Abstract:

Private well water quality is largely unregulated in the United States, making it a responsibility of the well owner for testing and mitigating contamination. However, previous studies show that testing is infrequent for most well owners, leaving them exposed to potential health threats. This study simultaneously addresses this public health concern and the decrease in the number of geoscience majors in many academic institutions by incorporating groundwater quality monitoring as a research component of a geoscience recruiting program. Our project is a collaboration between Kansas State University, a four-year university, and two community colleges, Barton and Dodge City, which are located on the margins of our study area, the Great Bend Prairie Aquifer in south-central Kansas, USA. The region is dominated by agriculture and vulnerable to contamination from the surface owing to its relatively shallow water table and sandy soils. Indeed, our water quality results demonstrate that nitrate contamination is widespread. Out of 178 private wells sampled across seven counties, 46% exceeded the US EPA nitrate limit (10 mg/L as N). Nitrate isotope data for 15 samples indicate that the nitrate is primarily sourced from chemical fertilizers. In addition to nitrate, preliminary results indicate that PFAS is also a concern. Of the 10 samples analyzed, concentrations exceeded the EPA limit (4 ng/L) in 3 and 8 samples for PFOA and PFOS, respectively. Thus, our project is helping expose significant concerns for well owners in our study area. So far, 53 students have participated in our project. Their feedback indicates that participation increased geoscience skills and interest for most students. During the first two project years, most participants agreed or strongly agreed that they gained a greater understanding of geoscience concepts (94%), applications of geoscience in everyday life (91%), controls on groundwater chemistry (70%), evaluation of water quality (91%), and geospatial analysis of water quality (76%). Although few students have changed their majors so far, most reported that the program increased their desire to learn more about geoscience (55%). Thus, our results show that, by engaging students in groundwater quality monitoring, we can deliver critical environmental data to local communities while enhancing the future capacity of the geoscience workforce.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

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