Des Moines Register
01-03-07
Study checks Ames water supply
A geologist is looking into whether a local aquifer will keep up with the demand.
By PERRY BEEMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
An Iowa State University geologist is using a field study and computer models
to help make sure Ames faucets do not go dry.
William Simpkins is studying the aquifer, an underground water source, in the
Ames area and the fluctuations of the lake at Ada Hayden Heritage Park, which
includes former gravel pits that serve as a backup water supply for the city.
Droughts in recent years have led to calls for voluntary water conservation in
Ames and have intensified discussions of how to use the billion-gallon lake,
which also is the centerpiece of a recreation area with trails.
ISU researchers hope the research on the Story County aquifer will help others
understand how ethanol plants affect local water supplies.
In early results of the study, Simpkins and colleagues checked how water moves
through the area.
Simpkins, a professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, and Evan
Christianson, a graduate student in geology and environmental science,
found that water runs into the lake at Ada Hayden from the north, west and
southwest and from the surrounding underground aquifer. Water runs out of the
lake to the southeast and east, restoring ground water and running parallel to the
South Skunk River.
The city can pump water from the lake to the South Skunk River to keep the
aquifer full enough to serve the city's downtown water wells.
Simpkins and Christianson are checking whether the aquifer will be able to keep
up with Ames' water demands.
Using new measurements and results of previous studies, they are creating twoand three-dimensional computer models of the aquifer. The models will simulate
what happens when water is pumped from the lake into the South Skunk River,
as it was in 1977, 1981 and 1988.
The city of Ames spent $125,000 on the three-year project.
Research at the lake at Ada Hayden has included checking the depth of bedrock,
installing 23 monitoring wells to depths ranging from 13 to 138 feet, monthly
measurements of water levels in the wells, and chemical analysis.
Reporter Perry Beeman can be reached at (515) 284-8538 or
pbeeman@dmreg.com