Water facilities make sure that inhabitants and businesses have clean drinking water. It is important to secure the quality of that water. The concentration of nutrients and minerals needs to be monitored in cold water in power plant areas and planned areas for power plants. 

In this index, the water supply and distribution system of water in Húsavík will be monitored: 

• Total amount of bacteria - numer/ml
• Coliform - number/ml
• E.coli - number/ml
• Acidity - pH
• Conductivity

Quality of groundwater in springs and underground streams from geothermal power plants will be monitored. Measurements from the following places will be published:

Mývatnssveit

• Grjótagjá
• Bjarg, a tepid spring by Lake Mývatn
• Garðslind, a cold spring by Lake Mývatn
• Lud-11, a borehole by Hrossadalur
• Lud-3, a borehole in Búrfellshraun

Þeistareykir and Kelduhverfi

• Water supply by Ketilfjall
• ÞR-16 - borehole 
• ÞR-9 - borehole in a power plant's water collection area
• ÞR-15 - borehole in Reykjaheiði
• Fjöll - water supply for the town 
• Rifós - spring by spawning station

The following chemicals and parameters have been chosen to show results:

• Concentration of arsenic (As)
• Concentration of chromium (Cr)
• Concentration of silicon (SiO2)
• Temperature 
• Electrical conductivity of water 

Chromium is an element with the chemical formula Cr. Chromium is categorised as a heavy metal which means it is a metal with a high mass. A number of chemicals belong to that group but exogenous ones are considered to be arsenic, lead, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, mercury, nickel, tin and vanadium.  These metals are found in nature in air, soil, water and in small quantities in organisms.  Many of those metals play a major role in metabolic pathways and it is necessary for organisms to pick them up in small quantities. Most heavy metals can cause toxicity if the quantities get bigger. Chemical samples are taken once per year and if the amount of chromium in water gets higher because of geothermal processing it can be because of oxidisation in the machinery. 

Arsenic is an element with the chemical formula As. Arsenic is most often considered a heavy metal because of its density even though, in fact, it is a metalloid.  The concentration of arsenic and other chemicals in geothermal water is higher than in groundwater because of the interaction of water and rock at high temperatures in the geothermal system.  In geothermal processing, chemicals are released into water and air. In the waste water from geothermal power stations and geothermal areas there is a higher concentration of dissolved chemicals than in drinking water and arsenic is one of those chemicals. 

Silicic acid is a chemical compound of the elements silicon (Si) and oxygen (and hydrogen) (SiO₂ or H₄O₄Si) and is the dissolved form of silica. The word silicon is commonly used for both the element and the chemical compound. The concentration of silicon and more chemicals in geothermal water is high because of the interaction of water and rock at high temperature in the geothermal system. In geothermal processing, chemicals are released into water and air.  In the waste water from geothermal power stations and geothermal areas there is a higher concentration of dissolved chemicals than in drinking water and silicic acid is one of those chemicals. By monitoring the concentration of silicon in water, any geothermal effects can be seen.

Temperature and conductivity of the water in monitored areas in Mývatnssveit, Þeistareykir and Kelduhverfi is measured once per year as well as a sample being taken. The places where the samples are taken can be streams, monitored holes or springs (hot, tepid and cold). If the conductivity measurements go up, it would be an indication of higher chemical concentration in the water and therefore increased effects of the geothermal energy.  The concentration in geothermal water is higher than groundwater because of the interaction of water and rock at high temperature in the geothermal system. The same applies if temperature rises in water in sampling areas which would be an indication of increased effects of geothermal energy.  

Frequency

Data showing the quality of drinking water and groundwater in springs and underground from geothermal power stations in the above-mentioned sampling areas will be published yearly. 

Area 

Data from the central area will be compared.

Accountability

The project manager is responsible for acquiring the data and publishing it according to the publishing schedule.

Source Material

Data will be collected from Heilbrigðiseftirlits Norðurlands eystra (Public Health Authority) and Landsvirkjun/ÍSOR