POTENTIAL IMPACT OF FAULT TO THE WATER QUALITY OF A KARSTIC SHALLOW AQUIFER IN LAWRENCE AND GREENE COUNTIES, MISSOURI

Water quality monitoring is important to guarantee that is not being contaminated. In karstic areas, fractures provides zones where contamination could infiltrate to the deeper ground and contaminate aquifers. The purpose of the study was to determine if proximity to fault areas is risky to water quality. For this, eleven springs were sampled within Lawrence and Greene Counties for 12 months to analyze contamination in the zone. Basic water quality from the spring was measured to be analyzed and compared with the water quality coming from wells in the zone. Additionally, nitrate was analyzed due to this contaminant coming from anthropogenic sources. The measurement showed that there is only one spring that had nitrate between 0 to 2 mg/L, eight springs whose concentration were between 2 to 4 mg/L, and two that exceeded 4 mg/L. Furthermore, nitrate concentration in the spring respond in two ways to precipitation. As a potential future work, water and sediments samples are going to be analyzed to determine the presence of PFAS (Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in the zone.