Abstract

Contamination of drinking water can be incredibly problematic for the associated community, causing health problems that can be harmful for generations. There have been safeguards established in order to protect drinking water, including laws, and infrastructure built into community water treatment systems in many communities in the US. The success of these efforts vary among the locations, and understanding the causes and successful remediation efforts are important for creating future plans to deal with other water contamination events. Wooster, Ohio is a city whose groundwater has been affected by contamination as a result of the town’s industrial waste. The pollution of Wooster’s drinking water sources was problematic in the town’s history, and is important to be understood in order to deal with drinking water contamination in the future. By using GIS techniques and running statistical tests on volatile organic compounds and well log data, this study aims to provide a clear picture for the history of the contamination and remediation of Wooster’s drinking water by showing visual and statistical representations of the data, and to determine the success of the clean-up efforts following the contamination. Overall, the contamination within the aquifer has decreased greatly since it’s detection, and has remains at safe drinking levels today.

Advisor

Crawford, Alex

Department

Geology

Disciplines

Geology | Hydrology

Keywords

Geology, Hydrology, Groundwater, Pollution, Contamination

Publication Date

2020

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2020 Mason G. Minerva