“Current Research and Saltwater Intrusion of the Lloyd Aquifer in Northern and Southern Nassau County, NY” was the name of the talk that I went to. I have never heard of a title that long in my life and in hindsight the title should have been an indication of how out of my league I was. The talk took place at City College on December 4th. It was presented by Frederick Stumm who got his B.S. from Hofstra University, his M.S. from California State University and his Ph.D from the Graduate Center at CUNY. His current research focuses on using advanced surface and borehole geophysics to help solve environmental and engineering problems with the hydrogeologic framework of Long Island. Overall, he is a very educated man.
The talk was not aiming its research towards people like me. When I say people like me, I mean people who are not well versed in the topics of earth science and geophysics. Most of the topics that Stumm talked about went over my head. He discussed concepts that I was not well acquainted with and some I had never even heard of before. To start off, he talked about how certain parts of the Lloyd and Magothy aquifer, both in Long Island, had been shutdown due to saltwater intrusion. He also talked about how there is a funding crisis when it came to observing and fixing these aquifers. He also mentioned that geophysics could be helpful in solving problems that come up with aquifers. Stumm then went on to mention the three most important Long Island aquifers: The Upper Glacial Aquifer, the Magothy Aquifer and the Lloyd Aquifer.
Before this talk, I had never heard of the Lloyd Aquifer in my life. An aquifer is a geologic formation made from rock or sediment that has the capability of storing, transmitting and yielding groundwater to wells and springs. The Lloyd Aquifer has an elevation that ranges from -100 to -1,700 ft. This aquifer mainly serves as the backup aquifer because it is so deeply underground. The Magothy and the Upper Glacial Aquifer are the aquifers that Long Island normally taps into for its water, but there is a problem with all three aquifers. These aquifers are experiencing saltwater intrusion, with the Magothy and Upper Glacial ones experiencing more of it, which is bad because drinking water has the potential of becoming contaminated. So, Stumm wants to see if there is a way to look at the saltwater content surrounding the wells, that are relying on the aquifers for their water, to see if there is a way to prevent further saltwater intrusion.
Geophysics, the physics of the earth and something that I don’t know much about. Stumm discussed how borehole geophysics can help with research of aquifers. Boreholes are deep holes made in the ground to locate water or oil. He said that gamma logs could be used to provide an estimate of the clay content surrounding a well. He also stated that conductivity and resistivity logs could provide an estimate of the saltwater content surrounding a well. Stumm also mentioned that Borehole Radio Tomography could be used to map conductivity between boreholes. I don’t know how these methods could help, because I don’t know anything about them, but Stumm placed heavy emphasis on how geophysics could be used to do better work. So, science should be used as a tool for improvement. Now that is a concept that I do understand.
Stumm mentioned the different amount of pumping that different people were doing in Long Island. This is the part that I most understood about the talk. He mentioned how golf-courses can volunteer the information for the amount of pumping that they do, but they are not required to do so. The pumping that is involved with public-supply has to be recorded and reported. Industrial pumping has no regulations. So, the pumping methods are not helping keep the aquifers sustainable. Stumm stressed that all individuals involved with pumping water should be required to report it and should have a cap that mirrors the reality of the aquifer situation. This is important because overpumping of a water supply can lead to more saltwater intrusion in the aquifers.
This talk was clearly out of my comfort zone. I think it was aimed more towards students who are looking to be involved in projects that are like the work that Stumm has done. Concepts went over my head and there were times where I didn’t know what was going on, but the last part of the talk truly resonated with me. If regulations aren’t placed on the pumping of water, saltwater intrusion could get worse. Now is the time for scientists to work together, and with the government, to keep clean water in Long Island and to maintain sustainability in the aquifers.
