Surface water vs aquifer
Submitted by Velda Smith on Wed, 2015-06-10 00:00
Dr. Sarah Godsey, Geosciences at ISU, spoke with us about the differences in surface water and the aquifer. She discussed how the city is trying to design ways to hold water to seep back into the aquifer instead of flowing into the Portneuf River.
Comments
This is very interesting. I
This is very interesting. I know that the portneuf loses a lot of it's natural purification because of the concrete channels, so getting it to run into an aquifer before it gets to the concrete would be great for the purity.
I agree
We do need to be thinking of ways to replenish the aquifer. The river looks beautiful both before and several miles after it flows through the concrete channel. Lava Hot Springs has a great business having people float the Portneuf. It hardly looks like the same river here.
This is such great
This is such great information for our Expedition next year. I was able to speak with Emily today and she told me about all that she had learned about the measurements we do in the Portneuf with the students as well as what we can sample with the aquifer. I am so excited to work through stuff with the kids. And meeting local experts to introduce to our students is all that much better.
Agree
I totally agree. I think that learning as a digi learner will help us build a list of resources and community partners which will strenghten the depth of learning our students will achieve.
Current state of local aquifer
What is the current state of our local aquifer? Is it being replenished at a rate high enough to replace the used water? How much water is actually taken from the aquifer vs. taken out of surface water sources?
Our Aquifer
because of the large boulders associated with the Bonneville Flood our aquifer is very productive. Dr. Godsey said that sometimes when she's pumping water out of a well to test she can see water slosh back in where usually it seeps in slowly. I think our aquifer is replenished at a high enough rate to sustain our water use but that means that contaminants can seep into our aquifer more quickly. The highway pond near Century is actually our aquifer so if you are curious about the groundwater level that is a good place to look.
All of our drinking water is pulled from wells in town rather than surface water. Pocatello used to get drinking water from Mink Creek/Gibson Jack but moved to ground water when water became publicly managed near the turn of the century.
Interesting
I hadn't thought about the relationship between speed of refilling an aquifer and the ability for contaminants to seep in. Thanks for the information, Emily!
If you hike up GIbson Jack or
If you hike up GIbson Jack or West Fork of Mink Creek you can see some of the remains of the aqueducts that brought water down to Pocatello. There are remains of some of the wooden pipes on the mountain sides above Cherry Springs.
I admit- I've seen those
I admit- I've seen those aqueduct remains up Gibson Jack, but never put two and two together to realize they had been used to get water to Pocatello.Thanks!
I was the same way Shannon. I
I was the same way Shannon. I didn't realize that was what they were, but it makes sense.