Grou
undwater A
Aquifeers in the Mississiinewaa Wattersheed Delaaware Countty Soil and W
Water Conse
ervation Disttrict Ball State Naturral Resources and Enviro
onmental M
Managementt Jake FFullenkamp, M
Mark Jazyk, Le SShu, and Kevin Williams II Do Y
You Have Pro
oblems With
h: Conttaminated we
ell water? Inspeections for yo
our well/septtic systems? Know
wing where to
o store hazarrdous substan
nces on your property? Background &
& Issues When rain falls on thee ground, som
me of it travells slowly dow
wn through the groun
nd to the aquuifer. As wateer makes its sllow journey, it is filtered by soil, saand and grav el. This waterr is called gro
oundwater. A
An aquifer is the area undergroundd where spacees between ggravel, sand, cclay, or rock fill with w
water. As precip
pitation infiltrrates into thee subsurface ssoil, it generally forms an unsaturated zone andd a saturated zone. In the u
unsaturated zzone, the voids—sp
paces betweeen grains of ggravel, sand, ssilt, clay, and cracks within
n rocks—co
ontain both aair and water. Although a llot of water ccan be present in the unsatu rated zone, this water can
nnot be pump
ped by wells because it is held too tightly by cap
pillary forces.. The upper p
part of the unsaturated zone is the soil‐waater zone. The soil zone is crisscrossed by roots, opeenings left by decayed roo
ots, and anim
mal and worm burrows, wh
hich allow the
e precipitation
n to infiltrate into the soil zone. Water in the soil is u
used by plantts in life functtions and leaff transpiration
n, but it also can evaporatte directly to tthe atmosphere. Below
w the unsaturated zone is a saturated zzone where w
water compleetely fills the vvoids between rock and so
oil particles. Natural refilling off deep aquife
ers is a slow process becau
use groundwaater moves slo
owly through
h the unsaturaated zone and tthe aquifer. TThe rate of reccharge is also
o an importan
nt consideratiion. An aquifeer’s location aand the amou
unt of annual preciipitation impaact the groun
ndwater supply. Areas in arid climates w
will take longeer to recharge their supplyy than areas with more tropicaal or temperate climates. 1 Welll Water an
nd Aquiferrs Potential Sourcess of Contamin
nation: 
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Agriculturral fertilizers aand pesticide
es Concentraated Animal FFeeding Operrations Combined
d Sewer Overrflows Septic Tan
nks Storage taanks containing hazardouss liquids Landfills Industrial chemical spill/runoff Atmosphe
eric contamin
nants W
Ways Individu
uals can protect groundwater: 
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Dispo
ose of chemicaals properly. Do not pour cchemicals down
n drains! Take used motor o
oil to a recycling center. Limit the amount o
of fertilizer an
nd pesticides used on garde
ens and lawnss. Prope
erly abandon unused wellss or cisterns.
Dispo
ose of household hazardou
us waste prop
perly. Remo
ove abandone
ed fuel oil and
d gasoline tan
nks prope
erly. Keep septic system
ms well maintained. Reporrt illegal dumping. Minim
mize the use o
of de‐icers. Get in
nvolved in waater education
nal programs. Low Impact Acctivities 
Recrreation, gardenin
ng, playgrounds
Medium Impacct Activities 
Garaage, boat, swimm
ming pools High Impact Acctivities 
Chem
mical/fuel storagge, manure/com
mpost piless, downhill septicc system, and au
uto repaair
P
Private Well W
Water: 
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In
ndividuals are
e responsible for well wate
er testing Private drinkin
ng water supp
plies are not ssubject to EPA
A standards Waters taste, s
W
smell, color and cloudiness can be indiccator of a con
ntamination Maintain conti
M
inuous maintenance on yo
our well by keeeping well arrea clean, acccessible, and away from pollutants It’s important to regularly test your well water and reecord and doccument resullts To
o learn more about testingg your well w
water and otheer well inform
mation go to o
or contact yo
our local health departm
ment, agriculttural extensio
on expert, neaarby public w
water system, or a local university Nexxt Steps If you
u own a well and want to b
be sure it is safe – ask yourself these quuestions: • Is your we
ell/septic systtem due for aan inspection?? • Se
eptic tank maalfunctions caan pollute gro
oundwater • Get Current on
n your septic system inspe
ection and cleeaning 2 2
•
•
• Get an annual water well syystem inspecttion Are there any abandon
ned wells on yyou property? • Im
mproperly abandoned wells can lead to
o groundwateer contaminattion • Properly decom
mmission anyy abandoned wells using a professionall What specific hazardous substancess are in and aaround your hhome? • Move possible
M
e contamination sources a safe distancee from the weell • Sttore hazardou
us household
d substances in a secure pl ace and use tthem according to the manufacturer's re
ecommendations The D
Delaware Cou
unty Soil and
d Water Conse
ervation Disttrict TThe Delaware
e County SWC
CD is now offe
ering the follo
owing kits forr home testing: Test Kit #1
T
•Total Colifor
•
rm & E.Coli
•Nitrate‐Nitri
•
te, Flouride, Chloride, Sulffate, Hardnesss pH
•Lead, Iron, a
•
and more
Test Kit #2
T
•Total Colifor
•
rm & E.Coli
•Nitrate‐Nitri
•
te
•Lead & Arse
•
nic
Test Kit #3
T
•Total Colifor
•
rm & E.Coli
•Nitrate‐Nitri
•
te
Test Kit #4
T
•Total Colifor
•
rm & E.Coli
For more information contact: Candace
e Kindt 3641 No
orth Briarwoood Lane Muncie,, IN 47304 (765) 74
47 – 5531 extt. 3 Candace
[email protected] Help
pful Refere
ences USGSS ‐ further infformation of the hydrologgy and infiltraation of grou ndwater: 
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http://waater.usgs.gov//edu/watercyycleinfiltration
n.html http://pubs.usgs.gov/ccirc/circ1186//pdf/circ1186
6.pdf http://pubs.usgs.gov/ggip/gw/ IDNR
R Groundwate
er Informatio
on by Countyy with maps aand publicatio
ons: 
http://ww
ww.in.gov/dnr/water/3468
8.htm 3 3