Sparta aquifer slowly deteriorating in quality MONROE, LA. (AP) (wrkf) - Sixteen parishes in north Louisiana depend on the Sparta Aquifer for their drinking water, but one expert says that water is slowly deteriorating in quality.

Ben McGee is a supervisory hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Ruston, and he says the Sparta Aquifer is tapped into at a rate of 70 million gallons per day. McGee says the underground water is slowly deteriorating in quality because of the drawdown.

All kinds of users, from paper mills to residential homes, tap into the aquifer, which runs several hundred feet underground.

The Sparta is the primary source of potable water in Lincoln Parish and surrounding areas.

However, McGee says don't worry about a lack of drinking water. He says Louisiana is blessed with an abundance of surface water. © Copyright 2009, wrkf