The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting groundwater testing in Van Buren County.

The testing began July 6 and is continuing. Tom Kimmons of the county Gas and Oil Advisory Board and the Shirley Community Development Corp. said Monday all the samples should be collected this week.

The USGS is testing for chloride concentrations, conductivity, pH and temperature, as well as methane in groundwater at 100 locations throughout the county.

The methane testing was added after Duke University in North Carolina became involved with the USGS testing here. A study by Duke researchers appears to show a link between natural gas drilling using horizontal drilling with fracking in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and increased levels of methane in nearby water wells.

In December 2010 the Van Buren County Quorum Court created a Gas and Oil Advisory board in response to citizen concerns over possible contamination of rivers and streams by gas drilling operations in the county. The Quorum Court allocated $7,500 for water testing.

Kimmons said total cost for the groundwater testing project will be about $84,000. The University of Arkansas is kicking in $10,000 of that cost; the USGS $10,000; and the Shirley Community Development Corp. $6,000, Kimmons said.

 
He stressed the importance of the groundwater tests.

“People drink out of their wells. This is even more important than the first tests,” he said.

The advisory board conducted tests on surface waters in April. Results from those tests showed, “We've got good water,” Kimmons said then. He noted that those were the expected results and they were baseline tests taken in areas where gas drilling is not heavy.

The groundwater testing is also aimed at gaining numbers for comparison down the line, Kimmons said.

 “This has not been done in other counties, this is sort of a template,” he said. He said the project has drawn the interest of other Fayetteville Shale counties.

So far, samples have been take from 41 wells. Money may run out before all the testing is done, Kimmons said.

“We need help from the county,” he said.

Kimmons is acting as a guide for the USGS team. The water samples are being delivered to a laboratory at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville for analysis.