Water Expert: Area Aquifers Are Resilient
Published: Friday, September 21, 2018
Some people hold the mistaken belief that agricultural irrigation has a negative impact on local aquifers. One hydrogeologist would like to tell them that that bucket doesn't hold water.
"In this area here, we have been blessed with an abundant water supply and incredible – incredibly resilient – aquifer systems," said Todd Feenstra, owner of Tritium Inc.
Speaking at an Elkhart County Soil and Water Conservation District field day Sept. 7 near Ligonier, Feenstra said he is spearheading a water monitoring effort to show the public that agricultural irrigation in Michiana is operating in harmony with the local aquifers. So far, the results are showing that underground water systems in this geographic area can bounce back quite easily, even during the peak of irrigation season.
Feenstra explained that much of the news we see and hear tends to portray irrigators in a bad light. The overwhelming majority of the stories published in the mainstream media support the narrative that aquifers are being pumped dry. No doubt, Feenstra said, aquifers in some parts of the country, such as California, Nevada and Kansas, have been depleted, but that's not the case in northern Indiana and southern Michigan.
"We're sitting on abundant water supplies here, but a lot of the fear from other areas is being translated to our area," he said.
This wrong understanding, he added, often has real consequences, such as an increase in regulations that restrict water use. In Michigan, for example, high capacity wells are restricted.
But, in most cases, these regulations aren't based on actual data. With this monitoring project, Feenstra is hoping to provide the data that show farmers are being good stewards of water resources.
"Until you collect information, what you think is happening when you run your well is your opinion," Feenstra said. "And there is a lot of people with opinions."
The monitoring project involves 150 wells across four counties in northeastern Indiana and three counties in southwestern Michigan. Three of the wells are located at Marty Moser's farm between New Paris and Ligonier, where irrigation is part of the farming system. Feenstra's work there shows that pumping water at 500 gallons a minute for 12 hours produces a drawdown of just 6 feet in the aquifer.
The drawdown affects the water level in a "cone of depression" that ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 feet – not enough, he said, to affect neighboring wells or even Lake Wawasee. Within hours after the irrigation stops, the aquifer returns to the normal level.
Over the past five years, the Moser farm has experienced rising water levels, which Feenstra said is part of the natural cycle.
More than just one farm, the water monitoring project looks at similar data from 150 sites in eight counties, establishing a regional snapshot of water levels.
"If we have wells that are screened very high, close to the surface, and wells that are screened very low, but yet all 150 wells show this kind of a trend, what does that tell you about the regional system? The regional system is rising," Feenstra said.
Feenstra said the aquifers in northern Indiana and southern Michigan are unique. Here, the underground water resources are "abundant" and fully capable of supporting irrigation systems.
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