Identifying Potential Pollutant Point Sources in an Area of High Ground Water Consumption |
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| Authors: | Ronnie McConnell Davis Patricia Irene Flores |
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| Institution: | Ronnie M. Davis has an M.S, in water resources and an M.S. in geology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also has a B.S. in geology from Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He worked for several years as a petroleum geologist/geophysicist for CONOCO Oil Co. in Houston, Texas. Davis now works as an environmental engineer in the Underground Injection Control Section, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region HI (841 Chestnut Bldg., [3 W M43], Philadelphia, PA 19107).;Patricia I. Flores attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1987 with a B.A. in environmental studies. She worked as a system analyst in the Geographical Information Systems Center at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for two years. Flores is currently an environmental scientist in the Air/Superfund Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III (841 Chestnut Bldg., 3 AT 11, Philadelphia, PA 19107). |
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| Abstract: | The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relies heavily upon its ground water resources for drinking water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, is responsible for regulating the discharge of waste to the subsurface through injection wells within Pennsylvania. To facilitate identification of industrial facilities unregulated by EPA that may be contaminating ground water through industrial water and waste water discharge wells, a screening procedure was devised utilizing a Geographic Information System (GIS). This procedure involved cross-referencing locations of industrial sites to maps of municipal sewer systems. The effectiveness of this GIS screening procedure was investigated in seven counties in southeastern Pennsylvania. Facilities identified by the procedure were inspected for possible violations of Underground Injection Control (UIC) program regulations. As a result of these inspections, many facilities were found to be illegally discharging waste into ground water. In addition, other EPA program violations were identified. The project demonstrated that the GIS screening procedure can be an effective tool to locate sources of pollution of ground water. |
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