Introducing Students to Geoscience through Groundwater Quality Monitoring
Groundwater Geopaths provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to
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Serve their community through groundwater quality analysis
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Obtain career-oriented training in environmental geoscience
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Gain research experience in an interdisciplinary team
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Network with water industry professionals
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Receive transfer and career advising at a four-year university
Participants will each receive a $3,000 scholarship. A major goal of the program is to broaden participation in geoscience. Therefore, students from groups that are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are particularly encouraged to apply, including Hispanic/Latinx students, African Americans, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, first-generation college students, and veterans.
The program is a co-curricular learning opportunity, meaning it will take place alongside the courses participants will be taking as part of their academic requirements. Major components of the program include a training workshop, a field experience, an analysis workshop, and a community presentation. Details about these components follow below.
How the groundwater monitoring program will benefit you and your community
Students who will be part of the program will be given the opportunity to gain a significant field and lab experience that will provide helpful data for Kansas residents and policymakers.
TRAINING WORKSHOP
Visit K-State campus, learn about the program, and get to know your teammates
Students who will be part of the program will visit K-State campus in Manhattan. While visiting, students will:
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Learn about geoscience careers
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Receive training in groundwater science
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Gain familiarity with campus resources, including the career center
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Obtain transfer advising
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Build bonds with mentors and other participants
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Schedule: For the Fall 2024 program, this event is expected to occur on August 30th.
Time requirement: 1 day (plus overnight travel for Barton and Dodge City CC participants).
FIELD EXPERIENCE
Learn how to collect samples and run preliminary water quality analyses
Students will get hands-on experience sampling and analyzing groundwater. We will train the students in accepted practices for groundwater sampling, which the senior personnel have used extensively. They will then work in small groups to collect samples from the Great Bend Prairie aquifer.
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Schedule: For the Fall 2024 program, this event is expected to occur September 13th and 14th.
Time requirement: 2 days (plus overnight travel for Dodge City CC and K-State students).
ANALYSIS WORKSHOPS
Learn more about chemical analyses
Students and mentors will analyze the groundwater samples they collect during early October.
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Results will be shared with students, and mentors and used to evaluate whether the water is safe to drink. They will also use a geospatial analysis to understand how water quality varies throughout the aquifer.
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These trainings will provide the students with the tools needed to analyze, interpret, and present their results.
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Schedule: For the Fall 2024 program, these workshops are planned to start the week of October 21st.
Time requirement: 3 - 4 remote one-hour workshop sessions plus any time needed for groups to complete tasks outside of the workshop sessions (assumed less than eight hours).
COMMUNITY PRESENTATION
Share your findings with your community
Each student team will present their findings in a public forum. Well owners and local professionals who are involved in water resources management in Kansas will be invited, including :
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the local Groundwater Management District,
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the Kansas Geological Survey,
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the Kansas Water Office,
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and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Well owners will be provided the results from their well. Therefore, the presentations will provide an opportunity for them to come ask questions about their results and and discuss treatment options if their water quality is low.
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Schedule: For the Fall 2024 program, this event is planned for November 8th on the Dodge City CC campus.
Time requirements: 1/2 day (plus travel time for Barton CC and K-State participants).
Groundwater quality in the Great Bend Prairie aquifer
Students will focus their research efforts on the Great Bend Prairie aquifer in south-central Kansas. Recent research has found that water quality is on the decline in the aquifer. Participants will have the opportunity to help define the scope of the problem and spread the word to members of the community.
A decrease in water quality
Our recent research in the Great Bend Prairie aquifer demonstrated that groundwater quality has decreased significantly over the past 40 years primarily as a result of nitrate accumulation from fertilizer use (Lane et al., 2020).
A major source of drinking water
The aquifer provides drinking water for about 130,000 people through public water supplies and for about 33,000 people via private water wells. The quality of water from public supplies is regulated by the Clean Water Act, but quality is unregulated for private water wells and we know little about levels of nitrate exposure for households using them.
Join our team and help your community
Student participants in our program will help fill this knowledge gap and thus provide an important service to their communities. Along the way, they will also be learning about geoscience, gaining a deeper appreciation of its connection to their lives, and obtaining career-relevant training.
Fall 2023 Kansas Groundwater Geopaths team during their field experience