Evaluating Water Levels in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain using National Groundwater Monitoring Network Data
Monday, December 4, 2017: 11:10 a.m.
102 B (Music City Center)
Daryll Pope
,
New Jersey Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey
Ronald Busciolano
,
Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Coram, NY
Mark Durway
,
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Raleigh, NC
David L. Nelms
,
USGS, Richmond, VA
Jeff Raffensperger
,
MD/DE/DC Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Baltimore, MD
Nat Wilson
,
State of North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality Water Resources, Raleigh, NC
David R. Wunsch, Ph.D., PG
,
Delaware Geological Survey, Newark, DE
The Subcommittee on Ground Water of the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information has guided the development of the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN). The Network will provide water-level and water-quality data for groundwater resources at a scale appropriate for evaluating the USGS designated Principal Aquifers in the Nation. The Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) is one of the first Principal Aquifers to have sufficient data available through the NGWMN data portal. The NACP extends from Long Island, New York to North Carolina. The NACP primarily consists of a series of seaward-dipping, semi-consolidated to unconsolidated sediment (aquifers) and interbedded clay units (confining units) that generally thicken to the southeast. In this presentation we show the current status of water levels in the NACP and the utility of NGWMN data to highlight temporal and spatial water-level changes.
Data currently available for the NACP in the NGWMN are provided by water resources agencies in seven states. Differences in the procedures used to collect data and classify sites are presented because they affect the use of the data. Available water-level data for wells in the NACP from the NGWMN are used to begin to address questions listed in the Network Objectives section of the NGWMN Framework Document (2013). Spatial variations in water-level changes are shown using maps of changes observed over the past 10 and 30 years, respectively. Selected hydrographs over the extent of the aquifer system are shown to complement the change maps. Water-level change maps over the past 30 years in each of the five major aquifers of the NACP show the variability within the aquifer system. The current status of water-levels is shown by visualizing the most recent water-level in comparison to long-term monthly statistics. Other potential uses of NGWMN data in the NACP will be briefly presented.
Daryll Pope, New Jersey Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Ronald Busciolano, Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Coram, NY
Supervisory Hydrologist with the USGS
Mark Durway, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Raleigh, NC
Mark is a hydrogeologist with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Water Resources
David L. Nelms, USGS, Richmond, VA
David Nelms is the groundwater specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey, Virginia Water Science Center in Richmond, Virginia. He has over 31 years of experience studying groundwater flow systems across Virginia and the eastern United States. His main focus has been fractured-rock and karst aquifers, groundwater/surface-water relations, groundwater-age dating, aquifer susceptibility, and groundwater contamination. Nelms holds a B.S. in Geology from Virginia Tech.
Jeff Raffensperger, MD/DE/DC Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Baltimore, MD
Jeff is Groundwater Specialist of the MD/DE/DC Water Science Center of the United States Geological Survey.
Nat Wilson, State of North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality Water Resources, Raleigh, NC
Nat Wilson has worked with a few environmental agencies of North Carolina State Government since graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in geology from Middlebury College and with a Master’s degree in geology from the University of Oregon in 1986. Since 1989, he has worked with the Division of Water Resources.
Currently, he is chief of the Ground Water Management Branch which examines ground water resource issues throughout the State. In recent years the branch has concentrated on maintaining and developing the states’ ground water monitoring well network, providing access to and advice about ground water quantity and quality information via our web pages, and depicting drought impacts. They administer the Central Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area program which regulates water use through permitting in fifteen counties.
David R. Wunsch, Ph.D., PG, Delaware Geological Survey, Newark, DE
David R. Wunsch, Ph.D., is the Director and State Geologist of the Delaware Geological Survey. He formerly served as the Director of Science and Technology for NGWA. Wunsch has served on numerous committees for NGWA, and as an associate editor of the journal Groundwater. He served as President of the Association of American State Geologists (AASG), and represents AASG on the federal Advisory Committee for Water Information, and its Subcommittee on Ground Water. He is Licensed Professional Geologist in Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Delaware. Recently, Wunsch was awarded the American Geosciences Institute’s 2014 Outstanding Contribution to the Understanding of Geoscience award.
