Past Goals and Projects / Background

In the fall of 1991, an Arsenic working group consisting of UNL scientists and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) personnel convened to discuss changes to the arsenic maximum contaminant levels. As a result of our discussions, several collaborative projects are underway. Advisory committee that consists of 10 representatives from small PWS, NDHHS, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, Nebraska Association of Resource Districts, and the League of Municipalities has guided our work.
 
In October 2002, EPA region 7 awarded $50 K to us to document the spatial and temporal variations in As concentrations in Nebraska public water supplies. Specifically, we are evaluating the potential of using well hydraulics and pumping strategies to control As concentrations. Two wells from each of the following PWS have been sampled: Benkelmen, Cambridge, McCook, Stromsburg, Shelton, Elwood, Lodgepole, Broadwater, Oshkosh, and Anselmo. We also obtained $15K from the USGS104b Program. This project will provide information about the chemical form in which the arsenic occurs in the groundwater; and improve our understanding of the geological distribution and occurrence of arsenic. A third project funded by EPA Region 7 for $25 K started October 1, This project will: 1) collect a coherent major ion, Fe and Mn data; 2) provide a preliminary assessment of groundwater sources and residence times; and 3) evaluate As concentrations throughout selected PWS distribution systems.