“Ground Water Level and Quality Monitoring”

National Ground Water Association

Presentation for:

Advisory Committee on Water Information

January 19, 2006

NGWA Vision

To be the leading community of ground water

professionals that promotes the responsible

development, use and management of

ground water resources

NGWA Mission

Dedicated to advancing the expertise of all

ground water professionals and

to furthering ground water awareness and

protection through education and outreach.

NGWA Programming Information Transfer

Research

Professional Certification

Networking

Public Awareness and Advocacy

NGWA Membership

24%

70%

3%

2%

1%

Contractors

Scientists &Engineers

Manufacturers

Suppliers

Others

15,455 members as of 10/25/05

Ground Water

25% of total fresh water is ground water; 1% is surface water and rest is locked in polar ice and glaciers

47.9% of America’s population uses ground water as drinking water source

42.4% of country’s irrigation water is ground water

NGWA Priorities and Activities NGWA members and state

geologists surveyed

White paper to agencies and Congress

Testimony before Senate and House

Response to White House questions on ground water monitoring

Today’s Discussion Agenda

NGWA ground water supply surveys

NGWA’s response to White House questions on ground water quality and quantity monitoring

The Survey: What We Asked

Type of organization Is a ground water supply shortage

expected? Why? How good is your information? What additional information is

most important? What should the federal

government do to help meet information gaps?

ResearchRegulatoryBoth

State Geologist Response

NGWA Member Response

# responding

1 2 3 4 5 6

NGWA Members’ Organization Type

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

# of respondents

Res

earc

h/A

cade

mia

Con

sulta

nt

Con

trac

tor

Non

-GW

Indu

stry

Fede

ral

Gov

't

Sta

te G

ov't

Loca

l Gov

't

Oth

er

Shortage Forecast: Combined Responses

Statewide nowStatewide futureUrban & rural nowUrban now, both future

Urban Now Urban futureRural Now Rural now, both futureUrban and rural futureNo problems/otherNo response

Reasons for Shortages: Combined Responses

Quantity QualityLegalQuantity & QualityQuant. & Legal All 3 reasonsNo Shortage

Information Available: State Geologists’ Responses Most information

Water level monitoring network (3.36)

Statewide aquifer maps

Hydraulic properties

Water quality Water use data Consumptive use

data (2.96)

Least information Quality monitoring

network (2.78) Ground water Flow

models On-line data Recharge rates 3-D aquifer

maps/models Artificial recharge

opportunities (1.96)

1=no information 5=met goal

Knowledge of Ground Water Availability

05

10152025303540

% of Respondents

VeryConf. all

VeryConf.Major

Reas. Est.All

Reas. Est.Major

Know allLocs

KnowMajor

Locations

LimitedInfo

State Geologists NGWA Members

Most Important Data to Expand: Combined Response

Accurate Water Use Data

Water Quality for All Aquifers

Hydraulic Properties of Major Aquifers

Ground Water Recharge Rates

Most Important Data to Expand: Differences in Response

State geologists highlighted the need to expand statewide aquifer mapping

NGWA members highlighted the need for on-line aquifer data

Top 5 Desired Federal Actions Increase funding for cooperative

ground water quantity data collection

Increase funding for cooperative ground water quality data collection

Increase funding for aquifer mapping

Increase ground water availability research

Top 5 Desired Federal Actions (cont.)

State geologists’ #5: Fund public education and outreach on water conservation

NGWA members’ #5: Develop a national ground water clearinghouse

Survey Conclusions Most states are experiencing at

least local shortages now.

Most states have at least a reasonable estimate of the potential yield of major aquifers.

Few states have met any goals in collecting any type of ground water data.

Survey Conclusions (cont.)

Priorities for collecting more data parallel types of data already being collected, perhaps because goals are not met.

Cooperative federal and state programs for ground water data collection favored

Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality

Report released early 2005

Questions posed to NGWA

Questions Posed to NGWA• What information needs does long-

term ground water quality and quantity monitoring address?

• What are the long-term ground water monitoring needs?

• What should the federal role be as regards long-term quality and quantity ground water monitoring?

Questions Posed to NGWA cont.

• How does the federal government integrate its role with private sector, local and state government monitoring efforts?

• What are the priority actions that the federal government should take relative to long-term quality and quantity ground water monitoring?

Why Undertake Long Term Ground Water Monitoring?

Assess the resource’s ability to support population growth and development

Help design and assess effectiveness of mgmt and protection programs

Identify short and long-term changes to ground water

Identify artificial ground water recharge opportunities

Why Undertake Long Term Ground Water Monitoring cont.

Assess ground water and surface water interactions

Provide data for modeling Provide a more accurate estimate

of actual ground water withdrawals

What Are the Long-Term Monitoring Needs?

National ground water quality monitoring network

National ground water level monitoring network

What Is the Federal Role? Support a collaborative

framework

(Ground Water Monitoring Subcommittee under ACWI raised as possible framework)

Develop guidelines for data

collection, quality control, storage and retrieval

What Is the Federal Role? cont.

Provide federal funding for cooperative monitoring network development and operation

Establish a national clearinghouse

How to Optimize and Leverage Resources?

Federal government is “glue” to hold collective efforts together

States should develop state ground water availability and quality picture

Private sector firms should perform exploratory drilling and install monitoring wells

What Should Federal Priorities Be?

Federal funding of cooperative ground water quantity monitoring

Federal funding of cooperative ground water quality monitoring

What Should Federal Priorities Be? cont.

Others Demonstrating a commitment to

collaborative ground water quality and quantity data collection

Ensuring the availability of quality data at appropriate scale

Supporting research and development

Promoting public education and outreach

Thank you!Robert Masters and David WunschNational Ground Water Association

601 Dempsey RdWesterville, OH 43081800/551-7379, ext. 560

614/898-7786 faxrmasters@ngwa.org