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Effects of a Concentrated Acid on Water Chemistry and Water Use in a Pleistocene Outwash Aquifer a
Author(s) -
Grubb Hayes F.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1970.tb01315.x
Subject(s) - outwash plain , aquifer , groundwater , bedrock , surface water , artesian aquifer , hydrology (agriculture) , produced water , dissolution , environmental science , geology , geochemistry , chemistry , environmental engineering , glacial period , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering
Abstract A break in a waste‐discharge line associated with a 49‐foot rise in stage of the Ohio River in March 1967 allowed an undetermined volume of 22 percent hydrochloric acid to enter the Pleistocene outwash aquifer used by a Kentucky industry. Chloride concentrations in excess of 30,000 mg/l (milligrams per liter) were observed in the water discharged from the industrial well nearest the break in the waste‐discharge line. Chlorides ranged from 5–26 mg/l in water pumped from this area prior to intensive development. Other changes in water chemistry such as an increase in iron from 5 mg/l to 9,600 mg/1 indicate a dissolution of the aquifer materials. Movement of the highly mineralized water in response to river stage and pumping of the industrial wells has forced the industry to change its water‐supply system. Three wells, approximately 600 feet from the river, were the primary water source prior to March 1967. By March 1968, the well nearest the acid source was abandoned, the remaining two wells near the river were used in a supplemental capacity and a fourth well 1,500 feet from the river plus a new well were the primary water sources. Fluctuations of chlorides in an industrial well near the river for a 16‐month period indicate a persistent body of highly miner alized water near the acid source. Movement of this water body appears to be regulated at low river stages by the inclined surface of the New Albany Shale bedrock.