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Friday, November 23, 2007

Environment - The state of groundwater in Louisville

The ILB has recently begun taking note of stories relating to water resources management or the lack thereof: continued pollution of Lake Michigan; efforts to draw down and divert the water resources represented by the Great Lakes; the mining of Indiana aquifers for out-of-state sales; big water consumption by ethanol plants; etc.

Today this story about Louisville groundwater levels falling, reported by James Bruggers of the Louisville Courier Journal, caught the ILB's eye:

Water deep under downtown Louisville provides an inexpensive source of heating and cooling for many buildings.

But new demands have drained more than 18 feet from the underground reservoir in the past two years, raising concerns about whether a natural resource is being wasted.

Federal scientists point to the Galt House East, which has increased fourfold the amount of water it pumps for a geothermal cooling and heating system that it shares with the neighboring Waterfront Plaza office towers.

The diminished aquifer does not pose an immediate threat to groundwater supplies, and is only in the downtown area, said officials with the U.S. Geological Survey.

But if the level drops much more, the Galt House system could begin to draw air through some of its wells, hindering its operation, a senior Galt House official said. And it could be harder for other buildings to tap into an energy source that's increasingly viewed as economical and better for the environment, experts cautioned.

"Future development … could be impacted if planners and architects do not understand the (groundwater) system, its potential and its limitations," said Mike Unthank, a Geological Survey hydrologist.

While "plenty of water" remains underground, he said, the situation also shows the need for better monitoring of the aquifer, which contains as much as 100 billion gallons beneath northern and western Jefferson County.

Such issues need to be resolved as geothermal energy becomes more popular, said Donald Greulich, president of Kerr Greulich Engineers, which designed a geothermal system for St. Francis High School downtown and for RiverPark Place on River Road.

"People are looking to ways to use less fossil fuel," he said, and with competition, questions are bound to come up.

"Who owns the water rights? How much water is there? How much can they use?"

Once the water has been withdrawn from the aquifer and circulated through the system, "The water is then released into the Ohio River, where hydrologists say it's lost to the downtown aquifer." More from the story:
Doug Zettwoch, a Geological Survey technician, acknowledged that hydrologists aren't closely monitoring the aquifer.

A network of dozens of Jefferson County monitoring wells was largely dismantled in the 1990s with federal and local budget cuts, he said, so state regulators don't have as clear an idea of how much water is available when they issue permits for tapping groundwater.

Permits are required for anyone taking more than 10,000 gallons a day, and the state has issued 700 of them.

"It presents a challenge when you don't have eyes into the aquifer," acknowledged Bill Caldwell, who oversees water supply and planning for the Kentucky Division of Water.

While the state has a network of wells and surface water stations that sample water for pollutants, it does not have the budget to routinely track groundwater levels, said Peter Goodmann, who heads the agency's groundwater branch.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 23, 2007 06:50 AM
Posted to Environment