• State Reps say keep EPA out of Yakima Valley issue

• EPA Puts Up $1 Million to Fund Sustainable Ag Projects
  Explore cutting-edge ways of reducing the use of pesticides on farms.
  
  

• Officials will dig deep for solutions to dirty wells in Lower Yakima Valley
  Gives the federal government the ability to withhold funds, such as loans and subsidies to agriculture.

• State budget cuts impact money for aquifer research

• Officials will dig deep for solutions to dirty wells in Lower Yakima Valley
  Gives the federal government the ability to withhold funds, such as loans and subsidies to agriculture.

• Natural Gas Shale Fracturing Getting a Congressional Look
   Hydraulic fracturing uses a mix of water, sand and chemicals to create tiny cracks in the rock and release the gas

• Oil shale industry could drain Uintah area water
  
  

• From toxic trash in China to mountain-sized landfills in Michigan, the world is awash in waste.
  In loose configurations just below the water's surface.
  
  

• Sodium hydroxide added to a mixture of water and sand draws the calcium out of the water and coats each grain of sand.

• Colorado is getting ready for the final phase in a 23-year dispute with Kansas over water from the Arkansas River.

• High stakes water fight before Neb. high court

• Colorado stewards the headwaters of three other great rivers, the Arkansas, the Rio Grande and the Colorado

• Uranium Found in 9 Kansas Drinking Water Supplies
  
  

• In Maryland, Focus on Poultry Industry Pollution
  How to handle the 650 million pounds of chicken manure produced in the state each year.
  
  

• NM wants more protection from perchlorate in drinking water

• White House hastens to put new regs in place – and out of Obama’s reach
  
  
  Jeff Gentner/AP

• Plan is to use the district’s groundwater to create a large cavity in the Bethel Salt Dome for the purpose of storing natural gas.

• Alberta bans herbicide-fertilizer products

• More Than Health Damaged by Ag Nutrients in Drinking Water
  Over $4 Billion per year
  
  

• UT conference addresses new pact to protect Great Lakes, groundwater issues, cross-boundary pollution

• NYC Wants Consultants to Probe Effect of Gas Drilling on Drinking Water
  
  
  (Credit: Lori Zunno)

• Plan is to use the district’s groundwater to create a large cavity in the Bethel Salt Dome for the purpose of storing natural gas.

• UT conference addresses new pact to protect Great Lakes, groundwater issues, cross-boundary pollution

• Arkansas and Missouri governors sign water agreement

• Groundwater users on board with recharge proposal

• Critics blast report on state regulation of groundwater use

• Uranium mining in the 20th century left a legacy of surface water and groundwater contamination

• ProPublica editor defends water supply story

• Groundwater contamination lawsuit settlement costs Shell $46 million

• New Mexico officials say a gas drilling proposal on federal lands threatens a pristine aquifer
  
  
  AP Photo

• Gas drillers complain of Pa. regulations

• There has never been a documented case of fracturing fluid entering a drinking water aquifer.

• Contaminated groundwater creeps on

• GarCo gas drilling contaminating water supply, geology expert says

• Groundwater seems to be taking on CO2 100 times faster than atmosphere

• Congress should revisit whether a controversial natural gas drilling method pollutes groundwater

• Natural gas rush stirs environmental concerns
  Geologists call the Marcellus a "super giant" gas field

• Wash. farmers fight proposed 30K-head feedlot
  Farmers fighting farmers. Over water. In the arid West.

• EPA targets water runoff
  require some big-box stores to reduce the rainwater off roofs and parking lots

• Groundwater contaminated at ex-Air Force Station
  Possible remedies of what the engineers are calling a “chlorinated group of groundwater.”

• Army calls EPA action at Ft. Detrick unnecessary
  Fort Detrick is home to the military's biological warfare defense program

• Detrick to finalize groundwater contamination plan by spring

• Does Natural-Gas Drilling Endanger Water Supplies?
  A debate is heating up over whether the fracturing technique used in natural-gas drilling could result in chemicals contaminating drinking water

• Natural gas boom could edge into NYC watershed
  But there could be a big problem ... potentially a $10 billion problem

• Abington Nixes Wastewater Plan
  Board of supervisors has rejected a controversial proposal to accept industrial wastewater from natural gas drilling

• Intensive oil and gas production over the years around Pampa has led to higher than normal amounts of chloride in the groundwater

• Buried Secrets: Is Natural Gas Drilling Endangering U.S. Water Supplies?
  
  
  Image Credit: Abrahm Lustgarten/ProPublica

• Several Bills Filed To Address Injection Wells
  A typical injection well injects salt water (brine) and other drilling waste byproducts into the ground.

• State of New Mexico Taking Tougher Stance on Industry Contamination of Groundwater
  
  
  Image: Newswest 9

• Quebec Legislation Will Eliminate Private Rights to Water

• Chemical Found Again In Home Near Raytheon
  Raytheon to determine whether chemicals in an underground plume of toxic waste pose any danger to residents.

• Impose needed natural gas tax
  Groundwater generally flows into the voids left after the methane is removed

• Phrase “water war” was mentioned at least three times at the Kansas Water Authority meeting.

• EPA targets groundwater nitrate contamination in Lower Yakima Valley

• Proposed “taking” of groundwater by the government of Michigan would have been the single largest confiscation of private property in state history

• The desired future condition of the Ogallala Aquifer

• $15,000 fine to Hobbs Dairy for failure to install a monitoring well.

• Petroleum Shows Up In Water Supply

• Industrial solvent leaking into the Edwards Aquifer at a national Superfund site in Leon Valley.

• Federal officials to conduct an investigation of contaminated drinking water by Badger Ammo
  
  

• Thousands of gallons of gas spill at ExxonMobil fuel storage tank farm
  Spokane Aquifer 80 feet below

• SLV groundwater-pumping trial opens

• AVX blamed for foiled project
  Condo planners say groundwater contamination cost them their financing

• Groundwater Map of India and Farmer Suicides
  
  

• New Hampshire man ordered to pay $100K over groundwater contamination

• New Treaty Aims to Protect Shared International Groundwater

Ground water accumulates in the space between soil  particles, rock or within the major cracks of bedrock. Major  reservoirs of ground water are referred to as aquifers.

Ground water has been a primary resource, due primarily,  to it's higher range of water quality and the reduced capital  expenditure associated with providing water to remote  locations.

The Occurrence of Ground Water

Approximately 97 percent of the world's fresh water (excluding polar ice caps) is ground water.

Aquifers occur in two types of geologic formations.

• Consolidated formations
  Consolidated formations are those composed of solid rock with ground water found in the cracks. The amount of ground water In a consolidated formation depends on how many cracks there are and the site of the cracks. For example, consolidated limestone formations often contain caverns with much water In them.

• Unconsolidated formations
  Unconsolidated formations are composed of sand and gravel, cobblestones, or loose soil material. The quantity of ground water in an unconsolidated formation varies depending upon the density of the solids within the formation. Sand, gravel and cobblestone formations are generally high-yield aquifers, whereas, fine grained materials typically possess low yields.
  
  Percent of population dependent upon ground water, by State. (top 10)