CATALOGUING, SITING, AND EVALUATING CLASS V INJECTION WELLS IN AN URBAN KARST SETTING

Municipalities commonly direct surface stormwater drainage into nearby surface streams; however, if these are not readily available, and the use of conventional storm/sewer systems to divert surface stormwater runoff is not a feasible option, it is commonplace to utilize underground injection control (UIC) to divert stormwater runoff into subsurface streams. The City of Bowling Green (CoBG) extensively utilizes its karst system for stormwater control through the use of Class V injection wells. These wells are typically shallow disposal systems that encompass a variety of designs, including improved sinkholes. When comparing the current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) UIC database against the CoBG Department of Public Works’ database, significant discrepancies are apparent. The federal UIC program has catalogued 524 Class V Injection wells within the CoBG, but the City’s GIS database contains 801 wells. This gap increases substantially when reviewing the literature and historical records, increasing that number to more than 2,300 wells. The principal focus of this project is to develop a methodology to properly inventory and map all of the Class V Injection wells within the CoBG through ground-truthing them for depth to water, diameter, construction type, and construction material. The project also seeks to develop a way to analyze the mapped Injection wells to construct a risk assessment for hazard mitigation and emergency preparedness purposes, including flood risks and relative distance to contaminant sources. The outcome of this project should result in a complete Injection well database and inform policy changes in the siting procedures of injection wells based on the results of hydrological and hydraulic testing in urbanized karst areas.