Red River of the North Basin
National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Stoner, J.D., Brigham, M.E., and Cowdery, T.K, 1994, Water Quality in Surficial Glacial-Deposit Aquifers in the Red River of the North Drainage Basin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota: 39th Annual Midwest Ground Water Conference Program and Abstracts, October 16-18, 1994, Bismarck, North Dakota, p. 14.
Abstract
The U.S. Geological Survey, as part of the National Water-Quality
Assessment program, is studying the water quality of major surficial aquifers
in the Red River of the North drainage basin. A stratified-random sampling of
wells was used to enhance historical data of regional ground-water quality.
The basin was subdivided into physiographic subregions to form the sampling
strata for surficial aquifers susceptible to effects of land-use activities.
Preliminary sampling of the surficial aquifers in the Minnesota Moraine
subregion indicate compliance with most drinking-water standards set by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Slightly elevated
concentrations of nitrate nitrogen above background concentrations suggest
possible effects of predominantly agricultural land use in the Moraine
subregion. Nitrate-nitrogen concentrations ranged from less than 0.05 to 23
milligrams per liter (mg/L) in samples collected from 25 shallow wells during
August through October 1993. Of 11 samples with nitrate concentrations that
exceeded the detection limit of 0.05 mg/L, two samples had nitrate
concentrations that exceeded the 10.0 mg/L USEPA drinking-water standard.
Historical water-quality data on surficial aquifers in the Red River of the
North drainage basin were compared to data collected in the Minnesota Moraine
subregion in 1993. Median dissolved-solids concentration of 340 mg/L in the
Minnesota Moraine aquifers is less than concentrations commonly found in other
surficial aquifers in the basin. Total uranium, radium 228, radon, and a
large suite of pesticides and volatile-organic chemicals also were analyzed
from the Minnesota Moraine water samples to characterize regional water
quality, however, historical data on these constituents are limited. The
herbicide atrazine was detected in 7 of the 25 wells sampled in 1993, with a
maximum concentration of 0.08 micrograms per liter. Data from this study
indicate a land-use effect on ground-water quality in the Minnesota Moraine subregion.
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
