Statement of Interest

Gary Krizanich USGS
1400 Independence Rd. MS 808
Rolla, MO 65401
Phone: 573-308-3546
FAX: 573-308-3652
E-mail: gkrizanich@usgs.gov

I am presently working with a multidisciplinary team on the Southeast Michigan Drinking Water Initiative. The project is one of four funded nationwide by the USGS under its new Drinking Water Initiative Program. The aims of the Drinking Water Initiative Program are to (1) assess the quantity and quality of source waters used for drinking water supplies, (2) evaluate the vulnerability of source water to key contaminants of public concern, (3) evaluate the utility and effectiveness of existing source water protection strategies and (4) report results and information in ways that easily communicate with end users.

Recent studies of ground water resources in Michigan by the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) show that there are several counties where concentrations of arsenic in ground water exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) established maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water of 50 ug/l. According to MCDH, arsenic concentrations exceed the MCL in more than 30 percent of 317 supply wells sampled as part of a 5-year hydrogeologic study of Huron County. Ground water in at least 10 other southeastern Michigan counties also contain arsenic in concentrations that exceed or are close to the MCL. These counties have a combined population of nearly 2.7 million people (1990 census) including all or parts of the cities of Detroit, Flint, and Ann Arbor. The presence of arsenic at elevated concentrations is the most significant limitation on future development of ground water supplies in the most rapidly growing part of Michigan.

My interest in attending the Land Use Modeling Workshop is to develop a better understanding of how physical factors may potentially limit urban growth.