Changes in Water Demand in West Virginia

Hannah Foley* and Leslie Hopkinson, Benjamin M. Statler Department of Civil Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Field (Broad Category): Environmental Science & Sustainability-Civil Engineering (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences) 

Student’s Major: Civil Engineering 

Continuous water needs and uses greatly impact water resources in West Virginia. Water also plays a critical role in the extraction of natural gas. The overall objective of the study was to evaluate water availability at an unregulated water stream in southern West Virginia. Data from a long-term water gage (data extracted from 1967 to 2018) in Dunlow, West Virginia from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) database. This data was used to evaluate available water for large quantity users for the future development of natural gas industries. Large quantity users are those who withdraw over seven hundred and fifty thousand gallons of water within a calendar month from their state’s water supply. Statistical analysis was utilized to create flow-duration curves over the historical time period. Using daily data from the water gage, monthly data curves were created for time periods of 51 years, 30 years, and 15 years. These curves will be used to determine changes in future monthly water availability within the Marcellus shale region of West Virginia. 

Funding: United States Geological Survey 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course