U's water is pumped from 5 deep wells located throughout the campus. The average well depth is 1,370 feet below ground surface. Collectively, the wells are capable of drawing more than 5 million gallons per day of high quality groundwater from the dolomite aquifer. An aquifer is an underground layer of earth, gravel or porous stone that yields water.
Dolomite is a magnesia-rich sedimentary rock resembling limestone.
MU's water is drawn from the pores of the dolomite. In 1999, MU used 840 million gallons of groundwater, an average of 2.3 million gallons per day. The groundwater is not likely to contain harmful levels of bacteria, however, chlorine is added to eliminate the potential for bacterial growth in the water distribution system. Contaminants for which the water was tested but for which measurable quantities were undetected are not shown. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has reduced monitoring requirements for certain contaminants to less often than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year.