Effects of oil production on water resources in the Kentucky River basin, Kentucky

Abstract

As part of a comprehensive study of water quality in the Kentucky River basin, Kentucky, an area of intense oil-production activity was investigated. Groundwater sampling indicated that shallow groundwater in valley alluvial areas was probably not affected by oil-production activities, that water flooding had decreased the mineral content of water in the oil-production units but not in the overlying formations, and that the character of water in a shallow bedrock formation may reflect mixing of freshwater from the overlying alluvium and mineralized water from deeper units. Surface water from oil-production basins was determined to be a sodium chloride type water, differing from the calcium bicarbonate type water generally found in basins unaffected by oil production. The average annual yields of bromide, chloride, sodium, and strontium from one oil-production basin were at least 10 times greater than from a non-production basin. The largest concentrations of chloride and bromide in the Kentucky River downstream of the oil basins typically occur in the fall of the year, as precipitation and runoff increase following the dry late-summer months. Conceptually, these large concentrations are a result of the flushing of ionic constituents from the oil-production basins that have accumulated during the dry season.