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AGRICULTURAL DRAINAGE WELLS: IMPACT ON GROUND WATER
Citation:
Ludwig*, R D., R. L. Drake, AND D. A. Sternitzke. AGRICULTURAL DRAINAGE WELLS: IMPACT ON GROUND WATER. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/8-90/054 (NTIS 90-252644), 1990.
Impact/Purpose:
Information.
Description:
This document discusses agricultural drainage well practices, potential contamination problems that may occur, and possible management practices or regulatory solutions that could be used to alleviate those problems. The document has been written for use by state and Agency decision-makers in response to questions related to the impact of agricultural drainage wells on ground-water quality. The specific contribution of agricultural drainage wells to the increasing number of ground-water contamination scenarios being documented nation-wide is presently not known. However, it must be assumed that the presence of agricultural drainage wells can only serve to facilitate subsurface contamination. Confirmed cases of groundwater contamination by agricultural drainage wells have been identified in Iowa and Idaho based on studies cited herein. This confirmed evidence suggests that either alternatives to the use of agricultural drainage wells should be sought or the quality of fluids entering agricultural drainage wells should be better controlled.