Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID NJ_2023_OYEN-OPHORI

An integrated approach to groundwater management in northern New Jersey

Institute: New Jersey
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $5,000

Principal Investigators: Toritseju Oyen, Duke Ophori

Project Summary: Groundwater is an important water resources, serving as a major source of water supply meeting the ever-increasing demand of the society for various purposes. Anthropogenic activities are continual generating contaminants that find their way into freshwater resources. Transportation is one medium that is grossly associated with environmental pollution, the effect of climate change felt today is mainly associated with this sector – the burning of fossil fuels enhances transportation, though this sector is fast seeing its transition to greener energy. However, in ensuring the safe transportation during the winter seasons, deicing salts are road surface to melt the snow. The use of these salts (such as NaCl) is negatively impacting freshwater resources. Water from the melted snow is infiltrated into groundwater and drains into surface-water bodies, this act results in freshwater salinization. Chlorides are highly soluble and non-biodegradable; they remain persistent in the environment. The continuous use of deicing salt could one day make freshwater a scarce resource. Deicing salt could make our roads safe today but results in freshwater deterioration later. Appropriate solutions cannot be proffered if the current state of the aquifer across watersheds in Northern New Jersey is not truly know. The study aims to use geochemical parameters from shallow wells to predict specific conductance as a measure of salinity, using multiple linear regression model. Yields of salinity prediction from the watersheds would be map out using GIS. This would indicate areas with possible highest points. This would serve as useful tool for decision-makers in the area.