How much water is in our aquifer? How far does it stretch? How much groundwater is there in that well and how long can we safely draw from it?
It’s a scary prospect we’ve all been watching in states to the west, as they deal with significant droughts that are draining the Colorado River.
We’re sure that our growing communities in this area drawing on the same aquifer are going to have impacts if we’re not monitoring the situation now as opposed to later.
The Silurian Aquifer has been studied by Coralville, Iowa City, North Liberty and Solon back in 2005, and this study is a continuation of that for the next 20 years.
This study will be looking not only at the growth trends that draw on this aquifer, but also data on potential threats to the aquifer, like climate change and any water quality threats. What levels of PFAB or other worrisome chemicals have made their way into the source?
That Mount Vernon’s amount in equitable cost-share for the study is $1,753 is paltry compared to the information that the city will get on an important resource we and other communities in this area are relying on, as well as helping each community plan for the future.
There’s also a lot of information known about the aquifer already from previous geological studies, including why it isn’t as highly used in the central and southern portions of the state, especially the Wapsipinicon and Cedar Valley regions, where the sulfate concentrations are much higher due to gypsum and anhydrite and tick shale rocks.
There are other issues we’ve all seen recently, like the incident in East Palestine, Ohio, that really highlight the importance of paying attention to your aquifers and the number of communities that will be impacted in case of any incidents. This aquifer stretches for hundreds of miles and impacts many communities in Iowa, including Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Waverly, Charles City, Coralville and Iowa City.