Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Design and Construction of an Urban Runoff Research Facility
Published on: August 8, 2014
The Effects of Urbanization on Ground-Water Quality - A Case Study
Craig Eisena1, Mary P Anderson1
1Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. (Currently Hydrogeologist for USAID with the Government of Kenya, P.O. Box 30261, Nairobi, Kenya.)Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706.
Abstract:
The results from a 1 1/2-year study of ground-water quality in the vicinity of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, support the suggestion by other researchers, that chloride and sulfate are the principal products of urbanization which alter ground-water chemistry. In addition to chloride and sulfate, ground-water samples, from the Menomonee River Watershed contained relatively high concentrations of ammonium, fecal coliform and fecal streptococci bacteria. Field data suggest that contamination of ground water is caused by infiltration of surface water polluted by municipal and industrial wastes and (or) leakage from sewer lines. Some additional chloride contamination by infiltration of road salt is also suggested.
Related Concept Videos
Quality of Water
Testing Water Quality
Taping Over Different Ground Profiles
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
Quality Control
Quality control helps track data, visualize trends, and identify variations, making it easier to detect deviations that may affect the accuracy of an analysis. One way to do this is by generating a quality control chart, which...
Quality Assurance

