Beyond Pilot-Testing to Initial Expansion of the National Ground Water Monitoring Network
Presented on Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Michael Wireman1, Daryll Pope2, William L. Cunningham3 and Robert Schreiber, PE, BCEE, D.WRE4, (1)USEPA Region 8 (retired), Boulder, CO, (2)New Jersey Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrenceville, NJ, (3)Office of Groundwater, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, (4)Water Resources, CDM Smith
Reliable, accurate, and sustained groundwater monitoring is more important than ever. Groundwater resources are under new pressures because of increased energy demand, a focus on stream and wetland ecosystem health, and the impacts of climate variability and change. As these pressures increase, such legislation as the SECURE Water Act, which authorizes the National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN), offers hope that the federal government will provide the support needed. That hope was bolstered when the President’s Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) budget included funds for the NGWMN, but hopes dimmed with another Continuing Resolution. Thus, it is even more important to leverage existing monitoring programs and innovative support mechanisms.
Multiple examples will demonstrate the collaboration-focused efforts involved in the implementation of the NGWMN, which is being led by the federal Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW). The NGWMN is a collaborative effort among Federal, Tribal, State, nongovernmental organizations, private industry, and academia volunteers. The collaboration examples will focus on (1) inclusion of states in which prior collaboration between state agencies and the USGS has facilitated joining the NGWMN; (2) collaboration between USEPA Regional Laboratories and state data-providers for the Labs to test samples sent by participating states; (3) discussions with other federal agencies that maintain monitoring networks whose objectives and designs align nicely with the NGWMN.
A brief report on the current Federal funding of the NGWMN will be presented, as the foundation for summarizing the anticipated expansion of the NGWMN to occur in FY15, and beyond. This will be followed by an invitation to join efforts in support of the NGWMN, so that the nation’s groundwater resources can be tracked through the NGWMN with similar commitment and level-of-support as are other water and environmental resources.
Michael Wireman
USEPA Region 8 (retired), Boulder, CO
Michael Wireman remains active after retiring recently from the U.S. EPA where he served as National Groundwater Expert. He has a master’s degree in hydrogeology from Western Michigan University. He continues to provide technical and scientific support to several EPA programs, other federal agencies, International programs, and to state groundwater programs. Mr. Wireman has significant experience in the legal, scientific, and programmatic aspects of groundwater management. He is a member of the Colorado Ground Water Association, the National Ground Water Association, the Geological Society of America, and past Chair of the North American Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists.
Daryll Pope
New Jersey Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrenceville, NJ
Daryll Pope has a B.S. in Watershed Science from Colorado State University and a Master's in Contaminant Hydrology from Oregon Graduate Institute. He has worked on groundwater studies and groundwater modeling throughout his career. Pope has been Groundwater Specialist at USGS New Jersey since 1995 and has been involved with the groundwater monitoring networks of the Science Center. He has been involved in several studies looking at groundwater availability.
William L. Cunningham
Office of Groundwater, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA
Bill Cunningham is the Chief of the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Systems Processes Division. This office is the single focal point for disciplinary and interdisciplinary process studies research and development. Prior to joining the ESPD, Bill was the Chief of the Office of Groundwater, and prior to that he worked on groundwater science investigations in the Ohio and North Carolina Water Science Centers. Cunningham also serves as Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on Ground Water for the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Ohio State University.
Robert Schreiber, PE, BCEE, D.WRE
Water Resources, CDM Smith
Mr. Schreiber is a registered professional engineer with over 44 years of experience in water resource planning and computerized engineering analysis. He graduated from MIT’s Civil Engineering Department where he focused on groundwater hydrology and water resource systems analysis. He is a senior technical leader specializing in modeling of groundwater flow and contaminant fate and transport, and serves as a company-wide resource at CDM Smith. He has served on the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information as ASCE’s representative to and co-chair of its Subcommittee on Ground Water, focusing on implementation of a National Ground Water Monitoring Network. For NGWA, Mr. Schreiber has served as Chair of the Scientists and Engineers Division Board of Directors and on the NGWA Board of Directors.
