The North Dakota Department of Water Resources has selected three aquifers to study for a potential recharge of their water supplies.
Managed Aquifer Recharge involves capturing excess water from rivers and streams and storing the water in aquifers for later use.
Kim Fischer is a groundwater hydrologist for DWR. She says Elk Valley Aquifer in Grand Forks County, Spiritwood-Warwick Aquifer in Benson and Pierce Counties, and Wahpeton Buried Valley Aquifer in Eastern Richland County are all excellent candidates for a recharge.
"Each of the aquifers was selected for different reasons, so all of these aquifers are heavily used."
Fischer says there are a few other aquifers around the state being recharged right now and it will take a while for each candidate aquifer to go through the study process.
Fisher says this is part of an effort to be proactive about North Dakota’s water supply.
"We recognize that there is a lot of demand for water from these aquifers and with the way things are right now, it would be difficult to approve additional water. So, this is forward thinking on how we can get more use of our aquifers to benefit the people of North Dakota."