Results From Five National Ground Water Monitoring Network Pilots

The federal Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) is directed by the Office of Management and Budget to foster collaboration related to water information collection and sharing among federal agencies and the non-federal sector.  The ACWI Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW) developed “A National Framework for Ground Water Monitoring in the United States” (Framework), which proposes a National Ground Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN).  The NGWMN is designed to assist in assessments of the quantity of U.S. groundwater reserves, as constrained by groundwater quality.  The focus of the network is principal and major aquifer systems throughout the United States.  The proposed NGWMN would bring comparable monitoring data together from disparate sources in order to close spatial data gaps and evaluate national-scale groundwater levels, quality, and rates of change.  

Five NGWMN volunteer pilot projects completed a one-year effort to evaluate the Framework concepts and NGWMN feasibility.  Pilots included the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (evaluating statewide principal aquifers), the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system), the Texas Water Development Board (statewide), the New Jersey Geological Survey and U.S. Geological Survey (statewide), and the Illinois State Water Survey, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and Indiana Department of Environmental Management (Mahomet-Teays aquifer system).  Pilot projects evaluated the distribution of existing wells within principal and major aquifers, well measurement and/or sampling frequency, field practices, database elements, and data management procedures.  Each pilot produced a report that included this evaluation along with estimates of overall network costs, benefits, and proposed Framework changes.  A key component of these efforts is an internet data portal.  Benefits included an opportunity for the pilots to evaluate their own networks, field techniques, and data management procedures.  Pilots cited the ability to evaluate transboundary aquifers as a key future benefit.