Date of Award
8-13-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Environmental Sciences, MS
First Advisor
Michele Reba
Second Advisor
Tanja McKay
Committee Members
Deborah Leslie; Hans Hacker; James Rigby
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2020 G46
Abstract
Groundwater levels within the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, the primary irrigation source for eastern Arkansas, have been declining for decades. The Grand Prairie and Cache River Critical Groundwater Areas (CGA) have experienced the worst declines, which threaten aquifer depletion in the near future. In addition to using surface water for irrigation and adopting water-efficient farming methods, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) may be a useful tool in reducing groundwater declines. This thesis investigated the feasibility of using infiltration galleries for MAR within the Cache River CGA of northeast Arkansas. Mapping, geophysical and sampling surveys suggested that much of the region may be suitable for small-scale MAR. An infiltration column simulation of the recharge process was constructed to replicate aquifer conditions. The column study indicated that using surface reservoir water as a recharge source should not pose a major contamination threat to groundwater because of natural treatment processes within the aquifer.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Godwin, Ian Alexander, "Feasibility of Infiltration Galleries for Managed Aquifer Recharge in the Cache River Critical Groundwater Area, Arkansas" (2020). Student Theses and Dissertations. 372.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/372
