Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID NE_2023_Snow

Growing Groundwater Science

Institute: Nebraska
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2024-10-01 End Date: 2025-09-30
Total Federal Funds: $14,119 Total Non-Federal Funds: $16,283

Principal Investigators: Dan Snow

Project Summary: Domestic well water is vulnerable to contamination from anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants such as nitrate and arsenic. Few are regularly tested, even fewer are tested for the presence of arsenic species. A growing youth-led citizen and community science program promises to elevate the issue of domestic well water quality and provide additional motivation for regular well water quality testing in Nebraska. Undergraduate students at a 4-year southeast Nebraska university will be trained in well water testing, and work with a local high school to properly sample and test domestic wells from the surrounding area. Students will learn how hydrogeology and land use all affect domestic well water quality, and communicate results to local stakeholders. Highschool students will compare their measurements to the conventional laboratory measurements, while undergraduate students will compare arsenic test kit results to advanced instrumental methods and evaluate hazards associated with consumption of untreated well water. This project will build on USGS research aimed at understanding temporal and regional changes in US drinking water supplies