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| Groundwater Use in Claiborne Parish | About Groundwater | Make a Small Scale Aquifer | Bottled Water or Tap Water? | To Filter or Not To Filter? | Groundwater Protection | Groundwater Monitoring |  |
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GROUNDWATER USE IN
CLAIBORNE PARISH
How Ground Water Occurs Some people believe, wrongly, that ground water collects in underground lakes or rivers. In fact, it is simply the subsurface water that fully saturates pores or cracks in soils and rocks.
MAKE A SMALL SCALE AQUIFER
Another 'Soda Bottle Hydrology' project: http://drscavanaugh.org/sodabottle/bottle.htm or buy a kit http://www.groundwater.org/shop/proddetail.asp?prod=1021
BOTTLED WATER OR TAP WATER? Bottled water consumption in the U.S. has almost tripled in the last decade. In 1997, bottled water sales equaled almost $4 billion. This pattern is largely due to the public perception, helped by aggressive marketing, that bottled water is healthy and pure. A consumer webpage on the matter: http://www.barracudamagazine.com/bottwater.htm (excerpts from ‘ Bottled Water’) ‘In a four-year study of bottled water quality, the Natural Resources Defense Council found that bottled water is not necessarily cleaner or safer than big city tap water. More than 1000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water were tested. About one third of the brands tested contained contamination in at least one sample. This contamination included synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria and arsenic. About one fifth of the brands had at least one sample that exceeded state or industry bacteria guidelines. According to the study, 25% of bottled water actually is tap water! (Some estimates place this number as high as 40%.) PepsiCo's popular “Aquafina" brand is tap water from municipal water supplies. According to the NRDC report, the brand called "Everest" has mountains on its label, yet it is reportedly tap water from Corpus Christi, Texas. The FDA allows water to be called "spring water" even if it is pumped from a well and treated with chemicals. The average cost of tap water in California is $1.60 for 1000 gallons, while the average cost of an equivalent amount of bottled water is $900! Bottled water is about 240 times more expensive than tap water. the actual cost of bottling water for the manufacturer is not more than a few cents per bottle. The NRDC's ultimate conclusion was that most bottled water apparently was of good quality, although some contained contamination. But it should not automatically be assumed that bottled water is purer or safer than most tap water. U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the matter FDA Consumer magazine on Drinking Water July-August 2002 (excerpts) The Food and Drug Administration regulates bottled water products that are in interstate commerce under the (FD&C Act). Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), manufacturers are responsible for producing safe, wholesome and truthfully labeled food products, including bottled water products. It is a violation of the law to introduce into interstate commerce adulterated or misbranded products that violate the various provisions of the FD&C Act. The FDA also has established regulations specifically for bottled water, including standard of identity regulations, which define different types of bottled water, and standard of quality regulations, which set maximum levels of contaminants (chemical, physical, microbial and radiological) allowed in bottled water. From a regulatory standpoint, the FDA describes bottled water as water that is intended for human consumption and that is sealed in bottles or other containers with no added ingredients, except that it may contain a safe and suitable antimicrobial agent. Fluoride may also be added within the limits set by the FDA. "Generally, over the years, the FDA has adopted EPA standards for tap water as standards for bottled water; as a result, standards for contaminants in tap water and bottled water are very similar." (Henry Kim, Ph.D., a supervisory chemist at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Office of Plant and Dairy Foods and Beverages.)
TO FILTER OR NOT TO FILTER? FDA Consumer magazine on Drinking Water July-August 2002 (excerpts) Numerous companies sell. Some attach to the faucet and filter the water as it comes through the tap. Others are containers that filter the water in them. Water purified with these filtration systems (among the best-known manufacturers are PUR and Brita) typically costs less than buying bottled water, e.g. Brita claims its high-end faucet filter system provides water for 18 cents a gallon, a considerable saving from $1 or more typically charged for an 8- to 12-ounce bottle of water. Stew Thornley of the Minnesota Department of Health agrees that home filtration systems can improve the taste or appearance of tap water at a minimal cost. However, Thornley points out that consumers need to be careful about maintaining these filters. Typically, specific instructions are included with the purchase of the product. Without proper maintenance, he says, it's possible bacteria or other contaminants can build up in the products.
Groundwater
Levels -- USGS Website Information: Search Water Quality USGS Monitored Sparta Wells Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Environmental Evaluation
Division. Sparta Aquifer
Summary, Baseline Monitoring Project, Fy 2007. Appendix 1
of the Triennial Summary Report, 2009. http://www.deq.state.la.us/portal/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=RdOOyRHs%2Bj8%3D&tabid=1717
'Several groundwater management systems are currently used in the United States. They include: - absolute ownership. Landowner may capture all the water he wants and use it for whatever purpose as long as he does not waste the water (no legal responsibility for harming his neighbors by drawing water away from their wells) - reasonable use. Landowner is allowed to use as much groundwater as he chooses as long as the use is reasonably related to the overlying land (water cannot be sold or transported). -
correlative rights doctrine: landowners
have common rights and duties to withdraw water from a
common pool. - prior appropriation (priority is by a ‘first come first serve’ principle, usually regulated by a permit system that specifies pumping rates, well spacing, and construction requirements. Prior appropriation systems are generally used in the western states where water is more scarce.) Although Louisiana’s groundwater law is not clear, we are generally considered an absolute ownership state. There are only a few instances where groundwater law has been addressed. Article 490 of the Louisiana Civil Code seems to be consistent with the absolute ownership law by stating that a landowner owns everything on, above or below his land. However, in respect to groundwater, the courts have interpreted this article to mean that a landowner does not have absolute ownership, but only owns the water after he has captured it. Article 667 says that although a landowner may do with his estate whatever he pleases, still he cannot harm his neighbor. This Article appears to restrict absolute ownership, but it is questionable as to whether or not this Article can be applied to the use of groundwater. Along with these Articles, the Mineral Code also addresses the ownership of groundwater. The Mineral Code treats groundwater as a mineral and goes along with the court’s interpretation of Article 490 saying that a landowner does not actually own the water below his land but only owns it once he has pumped it out of the ground. As you can see, there is a pressing need for Louisiana
to develop a comprehensive water management plan in order
to clarify water rights for the users of this state as
well as protect this valuable resource for future
users.'
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