AWQUA: Aquifer Water Quality Assessment for Kansas
AWQUA Services
- Free Groundwater Testing
Evaluating samples from domestic, stock, irrigation, and lawn and garden wells - Interactive Water Quality Mapper (Beta)
Featuring regular updates of groundwater testing - Kansans Live Well
Offering educational resources and training for secondary schools - Opportunities for Educators
Providing professional development workshops and an ambassador program for teachers
Communities, businesses, farms, and homeowners across Kansas rely on groundwater, making it a vital natural and economic resource. Although the KGS continues to develop a science-based understanding of water availability throughout the state, Kansas lacks long-term, systemic groundwater quality data.
Localized groundwater quality issues have emerged across Kansas in recent decades due to both natural and human actions, leaving communities and domestic well owners vulnerable. Examples include nitrate contamination in the Great Bend Prairie aquifer and uranium contamination in the Upper Arkansas River corridor.
How AWQUA Serves Kansans
Understanding both the quantity and quality of Kansas groundwater now and into the future is crucial for public health and environmental protection.
To address this pressing need, KGS and partners are building the Aquifer Water Quality Assessment for Kansas (AWQUA) program. This comprehensive groundwater quality monitoring and research program is designed to raise awareness of groundwater quality concerns and help Kansans identify ways to protect and manage water resources, including actions to safeguard our aquifers.
Contact KGS Assistant Scientist Erin Seybold for more information.
Samples from the Spigot
KGS Research Analyst Alison Payne collects water from an outdoor spigot, a common source for AWQUA sampling.
Labeled for Testing
KGS Field Hydrogeologist Logan French labels a water sample before testing.
What’s in the Water?
Samples are tested for more than 40 analytes, including nitrate, ammonia, and lead.
Sampling Across Kansas
After property owners sign up for the AWQUA program, KGS staff reach out to schedule a collection time. This sample is collected by KGS Laboratory Technician Claudia Dorantes.
Offering Options to Well Owners
Well owners can opt for one-time testing or join a longer-term study that includes testing every two years. Each sample takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to collect.
Standard Collection Procedures
Water samples typically are filtered to remove sediment or particulates that could hold trace metals or other compounds that could bias results.
Sampling a Fresh Flow
KGS Field Hydrogeologist Logan French watches pump water flow before collecting a sample. Pumps are allowed to run for at least 5 minutes to bring new water into the line and provide for a more representative groundwater sample.
From Farms to Communities
AWQUA provides testing to private well owners and some public water supply wells. While visiting one farm site for sample collection, KGS Field Hydrogeologist Logan French helped feed a calf.
Maintaining Water Chemistry
For protection, samples are placed in iced coolers for transport to the KGS, then refrigerated, frozen, or preserved with acid until analysis.
Seasonal Collection Times
KGS Research Project Manager Nick Schneider uses a HydraSleeve to collect a groundwater sample. The AWQUA program plans to collect most samples during summer or fall to reduce seasonal effects on groundwater quality and improve year-to-year comparability.