Abstract
This study evaluates the groundwater qualities and environmental changes to obtain information on the groundwater contamination in the Permian Basin, Texas. Coupled with the U.S. government’s open data, these analyses can identify regions where environmental change could have affected groundwater quality. A total of thirty-six wells were selected within the six counties: Andrews, Martin, Ector, Midland, Crane, and Upton. Spatial distribution maps were created for six different parameters: pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride, fluoride, nitrate, and arsenic. Total groundwater quality maps incorporate all the contaminants and denote regions of poor, medium, and optimum conditions. To identify spatial changes in groundwater quality, maps were separated into two different time intervals, 1992–2005 and 2006–2019. We found that groundwater contamination resulted primarily from the mobilization of the contaminant from anthropogenic activities such as chemical fertilizers, oil and gas developments. Overall, groundwater quality decreased during the study period from 1992 to 2019 as population and urban growth began to develop in the Permian Basin. This study contributes on understanding of the response of groundwater quality associated with environmental change in the Permian Basin. Therefore, this research provides important information for groundwater managements in developing plans for the use of water resource in the future.
Highlights
Groundwater accounts for approximately 32 percent of all water supplied by municipal water treatment facilities
This study contributes on understanding of the response of groundwater quality associated with environmental change in the Permian Basin
We evaluated groundwater quality parameters such as pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride, fluoride, nitrate, and arsenic from 1992–2005 and 2006–2019 and identified land cover maps where specific changes in the environment effected groundwater quality in the Permian Basin, Texas
Summary
Groundwater accounts for approximately 32 percent of all water supplied by municipal water treatment facilities. Unconventional oil and gas production provides a decreasing trend of groundwater quality (chloride, nitrate) over time in the Permian Basin, West Texas [5,6]. Previous studies [5,6,7,8] have suggested that oil and gas development affected various entities, including groundwater quality and land-use changes. Further research on the Permian Basin, West Texas must be conducted in order to obtain a better understanding of the effects of groundwater quality over time. The purposes of this research are to (1) describe an overview of current groundwater quality in the Permian Basin, (2) determine spatial distribution of groundwater quality parameters such as pH, TDS, chloride, fluoride, nitrate, and arsenic concentrations, and (3) provide total groundwater quality and environmental change maps from 1992 to 2019 in the study area. This research can provide important information for groundwater resources manager in making decision and developing plans for use of the groundwater resources in the future
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