Drinking Water & Wells

How much do you really know about the water you drink every day? Where does it come from? Is it safe to drink? Is a home water treatment system necessary? How can drinking water be protected? Explore this section for more detailed information that will help you answer questions or solve problems you may have.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Preparing Water for Use in an Emergency

tips for safe drinking water storage for use in an emergency

It’s that time of year again in Nebraska, when we can experience severe weather such as flooding, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. These events can create power outages. If you are a private well owner without power your well pump won’t work, therefore you will not have running water and public water customers can also experience disruptions in their water supply. Having an emergency water supply on hand can be very helpful in these situations.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Groundwater Protection: It's up to Everyone

Groundwater Protection: It’s Up to Everyone

If you think about the water cycle, you begin to realize the water we use every day, is in essence, recycled. There’s no new water, we are drinking some of the same water the dinosaurs drank!

Keeping our drinking water sources safe begins with each of us. There are many things everyone can do to assist with groundwater protection whether you live in an urban or rural area.

Friday, March 29, 2019

How can nitrogen budgeting estimate nitrate-N loading to groundwater?

Nitrogen (N) budgeting, where accounting principles are applied to measured quantities of individual N sources, is one tool for understanding how long-term fertilizer-N use and irrigation contributes to nitrogen leaching. Here, we explore this tool by going through commonly-used conversions and calculations for N supply and nitrate-N leaching to account for changes in aquifer nitrogen contamination.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

After the Flood - Private Drinking Wells

Floodwater from recent heavy rains, snow melt, and flooding may potentially carry pollutants with it. During floods, water comes into contact with things it normally wouldn’t, such as gasoline, animal waste, chemical storage facilities and more. If your private drinking water well has been impacted by flood water, your water supply may have been contaminated with pollutants carried in the flood water.

Friday, March 1, 2019

Proactive Drinking Water Management for a Unique Water System

The City of Auburn, population 3,000, is located in southeast Nebraska, near the Little Nemaha River, approximately seven miles upstream of its confluence with the Missouri River. The City receives its drinking water from a wellfield located east of the community within an alluvial aquifer along the Little Nemaha River. The wellfield consists of 11 vertical wells averaging 45 to 50 feet below the ground's surface, pumping up to 150 million gallons per year.