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UC launches new Ohio water study

Spectrum News highlights examination of groundwater along Great Miami

headshot of Michael Miller By Michael Miller 513-556-6757
2 minute read May 28, 2024

Spectrum News highlighted a new study of excess nutrients and contaminants in groundwater along the Great Miami River.

University of Cincinnati doctoral student Megan Naber told Spectrum News that the project is helping scientists better understand the role that aquifers play in filtering nutrients such as nitrogen and contaminants such as PFAS from drinking water.

UC works with geologists from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Lab at its groundwater observatory off the Great Miami River in Miamitown, where they study how surface water flows through an aquifer, a source of drinking water for thousands of local residents.

Associate Professor Reza Soltanian is studying contaminants in groundwater along the Great Miami River. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand

“It's something that hasn't been studied before, so we don't fully understand the effects it could be having on our drinking water,” Naber told Spectrum News. “And it's something that's happening everywhere.” 

More than 4 million people in Ohio depend on groundwater for their drinking water.

UC draws water samples from wells at its groundwater monitoring site along the Great Miami River for study back in Associate Professor Reza Soltanian's geosciences lab.

“There is always an exchange happening between groundwater and surface water,” Soltanian told Spectrum News.

Soltanian said the study could help researchers understanding what happens to nutrients and contaminants that get into groundwater.

Watch the Spectrum News story.

Featured image at top: UC doctoral student Megan Naber, left, talks to Spectrum News reporter Alese Underwood on the banks of the Great Miami River where UC is studying groundwater. Photo/Michael Miller

UC works with geologists from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Lab at its groundwater observatory off the Great Miami River in Miamitown, where they study how surface water flows through an aquifer, a source of drinking water for thousands of local residents.

UC students collect water samples from wells along the Great Miami River. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand

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