The Memphis Sand Aquifer will get continued scientific oversight with a new five-year contract awarded to a group at the University of Memphis (U of M) and a new science director at Protect Our Aquifer (POA).
Researchers with the Center for Applied Earth Sciences and Engineering Research (CAESER) at the U of M will continue to monitor the aquifer’s water quality for the next five years. The group recently won an updated contract from the city of Memphis, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) worth $9.75 million.
Earlier this year, the group reported that the protective clay layer that protects the Memphis-area’s drinking water was once thought to “have a few holes in it” but they thought at the time that “it’s looking more like Swiss cheese.” Before the study, the aquifer was thought to have two to six breaches, now researchers believe the figure could range from six to 36.
“In the past, we probably thought of this clay layer as protective of our groundwater supply,” CAESER’s director, Dr. Brian Waldron, said during an MLGW meeting in April. “It was a continuous layer of clay with a few holes in it. Well, we’re starting to believe that it’s looking more like Swiss cheese.”
Results of CEASAR’s full study of the layer is expected next month.
City leaders and MLGW officials hired the group in 2018 to study water quality and the protective clay layer, concerned about impacts to water quality. While the water “is safe for now,” Waldron said, the clay layer is not as protective as once thought. For this, he suggested a proactive approach to leaders and they awarded his group the renewed contract.
The money will support programs to develop technology to remotely sensing breaches in urban areas, developing computer models to better understand the movement of water and contaminants, and the movement of water between the many aquifers below the city’s surface.
The aquifer will have another scientific eye upon it as POA recently hired its first scientific director. The group hired hydrogeologist and state licensed professional geologist, Dr. Scott Schoefernacker earlier this month.
Schoefernacker spent the past 11 years with CAESER investigating, protecting, and sustaining
groundwater resources in Shelby County and West Tennessee. Prior to CAESER, Schoefernacker worked as a geologist for the Memphis-based environmental consulting firm EnSafe conducting various environmental investigations and site assessments across the United States.
“We’ve been fighting with our science hand behind our back since the beginning”, said POA founder and board chair Ward Archer. “Although every decision we’ve made has been science-driven, having a scientist of Scott’s caliber on our team is going to strengthen our organization.”