A UNL Conservation and Survey Division crew drills a test hole near the Niobrara River (shown in the background) in the Cody area in north central Nebraska.

CENTENNIAL STORIES:
Conservation and Survey Division

The Conservation and Survey Division (Nebraska Geological Survey) of University of Nebraska-Lincoln has had a presence in the Panhandle since the mid-1970s, and its highest priority has always been investigating ground water, arguably Nebraska's most important natural resource.

In the mid-1970s, Vern Souders was the head of the Scottsbluff office and in charge of the test-hole drilling program that delineated the extent of the High Plains aquifer. Souders published several county reports, and in 1985 was a co-author on a comprehensive paper on the geology of Western Nebraska.

Souders and Jeff Gottula of Conservation and Survey also investigated the relationship between ground water and surface water in the Pumpkin Creek valley.

Warren Barrash, who was based at Scottsbluff in the early 1980s, investigated the unusual Brule Formation aquifers in the southern Panhandle. He found that the fracture zones in the aquifer were horizontal, unlike most fractured aquifers, where they are vertical.

In 1989 the Conservation and Survey Division brought in Steven Sibray to fill the hydrogeology position at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center. Sibray's background includes degrees in geology from the University of California and the University of New Mexico, as well as 14 years experience as a professional geologist in industry.

Since 1989 Sibray's research has centered on groundwater quality and quantity problems in the Panhandle. Continuing the work started by Barrash, Sibray used a computer simulation of a pump test to investigate the hydraulic properties of the fractured Brule aquifer. This aquifer was found to have a low storage factor, which makes it very drought sensitive.

In another important study, Sibray and Ed Harvey of Conservation and Survey (now associate director of UNL’s School of Natural Resources) used groundwater chemistry, age dating, and isotope chemistry to prove that the major source of recharge to the aquifer in the North Platte valley was water leaking from the irrigation canals.

In 1997, Sibray obtained funding for modern geophysical borehole logging equipment, which has been used to install monitoring wells for natural resource districts (NRDs) at more than 500 sites throughout the Panhandle. These wells help the NRDs monitor groundwater quality and groundwater levels. The geophysical logs have also been an important part of the North Platte and South Platte NRDs’ cooperative effort with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Conservation and Survey Division to use helicopter geophysical equipment to map the extent of the aquifer system.

In addition to the research, the hydrogeologist is responsible for service and extension, which involves providing the public with information on our groundwater resources. During the recent drought, providing ranchers, farmers, and policymakers information about groundwater became the most critical aspect of the job.
He also has provides geological information and interpretation to the NRDs, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, and the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Considering the great diversity of the geology and groundwater problems in the Panhandle, Sibray says it has always been a very exciting and rewarding position.

Sibray and his predecessors and colleagues also have filled other needs related to groundwater in the Panhandle:

• Meeting the ongoing need for unbiased information and interpretation. Investigating or conducted research on high concentrations of naturally occurring uranium and arsenic in ground water.
• Conducting water quality studies on nitrates (nonpoint source pollution).
• Investigating groundwater pollution related to petroleum industry (point source pollution). Pollution was related to older facilities and practices that are much more regulated today.
• Working with the U.S. Geological Survey on studies of groundwater near Sidney. Results of the study demonstrated that there was a ground water divide north of Sidney. He also found an aquifer at a depth of about 300 feet in which sandstone and conglomerate had been deposited in a channel at least 6 miles long and one-half mile wide. The channel was mapped by interpreting old geophysical logs that were run during the development of the oil fields.
• Publishing a report on water quality of the deeper aquifers of Nebraska. The project, funded by a grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, was intended to determine which aquifers were included under the Clean Water Act. Sibray and Marv Carlson of Conservation and Survey were the principal investigators. This project involved calculating total dissolved solids for deeper aquifers using logs for deeper wells obtained from the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
• Conducting a water quality study with the U.S. Geological Survey in the North Paltte NRD.
• Providing groundwater modelers for the Platte River Cooperative Hydrology Study (COHYST) with information about hydrogeology.
• Conducting detailed geochemical studies on the groundwater and surface water in the alkali lakes region in the Sandhills with Dave Gosselin of CSD. Lakes with fairly fresh water exist near lakes with extremely high salinities. CSD research found that the lakes with higher salinities were fed by springs with relatively fresh water. Difference in water quality was due to the amount of water that flowed out of the lakes. The practical application to this is that landowners with highly saline lakes could drill deeper to tap fresh water at depth.