Integrating Selected Regulatory & Research Groundwater Data Into An Archival System for Illinois

The Illinois State Water Survey Center for Groundwater Science (CGS) is a repository for a host of Illinois’ groundwater data. Such data include water well records, groundwater levels and quality, and water withdrawals. Water level data include 50+ years of water table observations, synoptic water level data for mapping aquifer potentiometric surfaces, and aquifer test data from thousands of aquifer, step, and specific-capacity tests. Groundwater quality data include analyses from the ISWS Public Service Laboratory, the Illinois EPA community-well ambient groundwater sampling program, and data from CGS research projects. 

 All of these groundwater-related data have been integrated into a comprehensive database for in-house desktop access utilizing a custom interface with an SQL data storage system. The program, called GWINFO, continues to evolve since going on-line in 2004. GWINFO allows CGS staff to integrate data storage and retrieval, and electronic document archival to provide a complete storage system for research project documents and data. 

The CGS currently is working with the Illinois EPA to develop an electronic monthly operators reporting (eMOR) system to serve as a web-based reporting tool for community water supply facilities. Conceptually, eMOR will allow operators and IEPA staff to upload/download, store, edit, and analyze monthly regulatory water facility pumpage/treatment reports in digital format. The eMOR application uses MS Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. At this time selected individual facility operators can upload their monthly reports securely to their own document library and IEPA administrators can access and review these reports. Our vision for next steps includes expanding eMOR to include more facilities and either creating a database mined from the monthly reports or a enabling a data extractor to pull selected facility data from the monthly reports for subsequent IEPA analysis and archival in GWINFO.