The City of Hamilton has created the best tasting water in the world using groundwater from the Great Miami River Buried Valley Aquifer. The city received the gold medal for Best Municipal Water at the 25th anniversary Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting in West Virginia held in February.
What is this "aquifer" anyway?
Think of the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer as a giant container with porous sand and gravel that can trap and hold water. Have you ever poured a bucket of water into sand? The sand absorbs the water quickly and it disappears from sight. A sand and gravel aquifer soaks up water in a similar way.
Where is it and where did it come from?
The buried valley aquifer generally underlies the Great Miami River and major tributaries such as the Stillwater and Mad rivers and Twin Creek. The sand and gravel deposits that make up the buried valley aquifer were deposited by ancient rivers that existed before the present day Great Miami River took shape. These ancient rivers carried large amounts of water from melting glaciers during the end of the last ice age.
Map showing the location of the buried valley aquifer (light blue) in relation to the Great Miami River drainage area.
How much water?
The buried valley aquifer is the most productive aquifer in the Great Miami River Watershed. Municipal drinking water wells, like the city of Hamilton’s, can sometimes yield more than 3,000 gallons per minute. In comparison, there are many places in Ohio where wells can produce no more than 25 gallons per minute and often fewer. Large groundwater yields are possible because:
This graphic shows the interconnected nature of the buried valley aquifer and the Great Miami River.
Water normally flows from the aquifer to the river (top), but flows often reverse during floods.
How the aquifer improves our lives
Besides being the main source of drinking water for a majority of communities along the Great Miami River, the buried valley aquifer:
The buried valley aquifer is our region’s #1 source of drinking water.
If the water in the aquifer was polluted or depleted, our region would be less resilient in coping with drought conditions, seasonal water shortages might be more commonplace, and communities might have to pay for more expensive treatment to make the groundwater safe for drinking. . So, while the city of Hamilton’s water received the gold medal at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, it's clear our buried valley aquifer made the award possible. Yes, our buried valley aquifer is worthy of a top prize.
By Mike Ekberg, water resources manager