Contamination and Water Management

Like other aquifers, Antlers is susceptible to contamination. Contaminants can be organic or inorganic pollutants that are introduced to the groundwater through infiltration. The majority of the Antlers region is is used for agriculture. Farms and ranches that lie along the unconfined boundary are potential threats for contamination. Organic pesticides are herbicides that are used on crops along the Antlers outcrop could potentially leech into the soil and contaminate the groundwater. One source of industrial pollution is the Imperial Refining Company Superfund site. Imperial Refining used to own an oil refinery in Ardmore, Oklahoma. It operated from 1917 until bankruptcy on 1934. Local soil and water analysis has revealed the presence of multiple petroleum olefins and arsenic. The cleanup of the site has been deemed "completed" by the EPA and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ, 2013).

Antlers has a natural quality that makes it a less appealing source for drinking water. In certain areas, the aquifer has a high number of total dissolved solids (TDS). The maximum recommended amount of TDS is 1000 mg/L. While the overall average TDS of Antlers is 396 mg/L, some wells reach as high as 3000 mg/L. These wells are located along the southern portion of the aquifer, which is also where the most accessible confined water lays. A summary of the TDS for the Antlers aquifer is shown at the right in Table 1 (Hart and Davis, 1981).