1. Wellhead Protection and Land Use Impacts on Groundwater Quality
Brian Benham
Virginia Tech Biological Systems Engineering

2. Land use-related Contaminant Sources

3. Water Supply Protection Starts at Home!
Potentially contaminating at least 50 feet from wellhead or spring box

4. In all things, moderation…
Photo by Tom McCarty

5. Contaminant Source Proximity – How close is too close?
Be concerned about land uses and potential contaminate sources visible from home
In situations where groundwater travel-times are shorter, activities further away may impact water quality
Fractured bedrock
Limestone geology (karst)
Gravel aquifers that transmit water easily

6. Septic System – Potential Contaminant Source

7. Karst Topography/Geology – SINKHOLES
Especially susceptible to land use-related contamination
Provide a direct connection to groundwater contamination
Living on Karst, Cave Conservancy of the Virginias

8. https://s-media-cache-ak0. pinimg

9. Sinkhole Clean-up After clean-up Bull Creek Cave
Lee County west of Jonesville
Courtesy Wil Orndorff VaDCR
Before

10. Hazards of Abandoned Wells10
Baby Jessica – Midland, TX Abandoned Water Well (AP File)

11. Addressing Abandoned Wells11
An unobstructed conduit for groundwater contamination
Should be plugged by a licensed well driller
Abandoned wells present safety hazards, as a conduit to groundwater and pose potential threat to quality of DW. As municipal water supplies reach suburban are rural areas, such as farms, many older wells are no longer needed and often neglected and forgotten. Sometimes property owners not aware abandoned wells exist on their property. Common rural activities often occur in vicinity of a wellhead - fertilizer application, animal waste, animal feeding farm equiomt washing may carry chemicals.
Most effective way to minimize risk from abandoned wells is to find and properly plug them. Some state and health depts have reqmt for proper sealing of wells, and require licensed well drillers to do the job. Chester Cty Health Dept has ordinance.
Graphic: North Dakota State Univ.

12. Other land use impacts on groundwater
Development increases compaction (yards) and impermeable surfaces (roads, driveways, roof tops), reduces infiltration. Less groundwater recharge.
Groundwater mining: more water withdrawn than recharges.
Increased pumping depth, lower well yields
Land surface subsidence
Salt water intrusion
Trend is to de-populate our cities and suburban sprawl - undoing progress with industry made to protect water quality - despite progess and efforts due to paving and development into formerly green spaces.
Key Report done by
Report: Paving our way to water shortages: How sprawl aggravates the effects of drought Aug 28, 2002 “Another major contributor to our water problems is the way we develop land. As we pave over more and more wetlands and forests, this new report shows that we are depleting our water supplies. It's not only the arid West that is facing critical shortages. The rapidly suburbanizing Southeast, blessed with a seemingly inexhaustible water supply, is now in serious trouble, as are many other formerly water-rich regions of the country.
Over the last decade, studies have linked suburban sprawl to increased traffic and air pollution as well as the rapid loss of farmland and open space. Sprawl also threatens water quality. Rain that runs off roads and parking lots carries pollutants that poison rivers, lakes, streams, and the ocean.
...But sprawl not only pollutes our water, it also reduces our supplies. As the impervious surfaces that characterize sprawling development -- roads, parking lots, driveways and roofs -- replace meadows and forests, rain no longer can seep into the ground to replenish our aquifers. Instead, it is swept away by gutters and sewer systems. The sprawling of America has translated into a significant loss of valuable natural resources. Undeveloped land is valuable not just for recreation and wildlife, but also because of its natural filtering function. Wetlands, for example, act like sponges, absorbing precipitation and runoff and slowly releasing it into the ground. More than one-third of Americans get their drinking water directly from groundwater, and the remaining two-thirds who depend on surface water also are affected, given that about half of a stream?s volume comes from groundwater.
This new study by American Rivers, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and Smart Growth America investigated what happens to water supplies when we replace our natural areas with roads, parking lots and buildings. “We then developed a "range of imperviousness" for new development in these 20 metro areas. Assuming regional average soil types and accounting for regional rainfall patterns, we calculated the amount of rainwater that runs off the land instead of filtering through and recharging vital groundwater resources. Philadelphia billion to 59 billion gallons; Integrate water supply into planning efforts by coordinating road-building and other construction projects with water resource management activities.
PSU Coop Ext recommends doing a build- out analysis for watershed - show impact of zoning at max.
Source: USGS

13. Questions?