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The March Arkansas Water Resources Center (“AWRC”) publication Arkansas Water Currents published an article titled:
Researchers Quantify Groundwater Availability in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (“Article”)
The Article notes that the U.S. Geological Survey (“USGS”) has recently initiated the MAP Regional Water Availability Study. USGS is stated to be partnering with federal, state, and local government agencies along with producers in Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
Both the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and Arkansas Department of Health are involved in the study.
Mr. Wade Kress of USGS is quoted in the Article as stating:
The project leverages historical data, newly collected data, and innovative new approaches to monitoring, mapping, and modeling to provide water resource managers with information and tools to best manage available water resources.
Goals of the study are stated to include:
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Accurate estimates of water availability within the big MAP Region
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Development of new groundwater level monitoring networks
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Developing of water-use monitoring networks
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Expanding on existing networks
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Leveraging modeling to assess what new data would most be beneficial
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Expansion of networks to allow for a better understanding of how water levels fluctuate due to irrigation practices
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Recharge or replenishing the water into the aquifer
Activities included deployment of large-scale geophysical mapping using continuous resistivity profiling methods. Resistivity profiling is described as the measurement of how much electric current passes through the earth. This can provide researchers information on the quantity of water present.
A link to the AWRC Article can be found here.
