National Groundwater Monitoring Network

NATIONAL GROUNDWATERMONITORING NETWORKPresentation to the TexasGroundwater ProtectionCommittee, October 2013

The Advisory Committee on Water Information(ACWI) is a Federal advisory committeecomprised of Federal and non-Federal interestswith a wide range of water resource expertiseand responsibilities.

ACWI oversees a subcommittee for waterquality issues, the National Water QualityMonitoring Council (NWQMC), which designed anetwork that provides information on how nearshore inland activities affect the oceans andcoastal ecosystems. Groundwater is a very minorpart of this effort.

In 2007, the Subcommittee on Ground Water(SOGW) was commissioned by the ACWI todevelop a “framework” to establish andencourage implementation of a long-termnational groundwater quantity and qualitymonitoring network.

The first “framework” document was released inJune 2009.Pilot projects were conducted in select areas ofthe country to incorporate parts of existing Stategroundwater monitoring programs into anational network.Lessons learned resulted in this revisedFramework Document.

“The National Ground Water MonitoringNetwork (NGWMN) is envisioned as a voluntary,cooperative, integrated system of datacollection, management, and reporting with alimited set of standards that provides the dataneeded to help address present and futuregroundwater management questions raised byCongress, Federal, State, and Tribal governmentagencies, the public, or others.”

The network may be able to provide answers to questionssuch as: Where is groundwater use greater than what can besustained on a long-term basis? What areas are most promising for future groundwatersupply development? Where is groundwater use creating unacceptableimpacts on surface water or on ecosystems? What are the effects of climate variability ongroundwater levels across the country? What are the trends in groundwater levels and qualityfor major aquifer systems?

Principal design features of the network include: Identification of the aquifers to be monitored. Definition of the core set of data elements, including geographicdata, well construction requirements, and measured parameters. Definition of comparable field methods. Defined protocols for selection of monitored locations in threedimensions within aquifers. Specific monitoring timeframes and frequencies based on sitecharacteristics and purpose. Definition of water quality analytes. Definition of agreements with data providers through which dataare made available to the national network. A data management system that allows national access to the data.

Overall network elements include: Conceptual modeling Monitoring design Field data collection Laboratory analysis Data transfer, storage and dissemination Interpretation and reporting

The NGWMN may be considered an aggregationof select wells and springs across the nation,that takes advantage of, and seeks to enhance,existing Federal, multi-state, State, Tribal andlocal monitoring efforts, and is not intended toreplace these systems, nor address local issues.

Monitoring points designated for the NGWMNwill be selected after there has been anevaluation of conceptual groundwater flowmodels within aquifer systems. A monitoringpoint may be a well or a spring.

Monitoring points will be included in one ofthree sub-networks: Background Sub-network Suspected/Anticipated Changes Sub-network Documented Changes Sub-network

Monitoring points within each sub-network willbe assigned to at least one of the followingmonitoring categories: Surveillance Trend Special Studies

Who makes the decisions? Subcommittee on Ground Water A Program Board (or Boards) An Agency providing day-to-day managementof the NGWMN

http://acwi.gov/sogw/ngwmn framework report july2013.pdf

NGWMN surveillance對 monitoring can be thought of a as a periodic census of groundwater levels and quality. Surveillance monitoring could be used i\൮ conjunction with Trend monitoring to periodically report on the overall water-level and water-quality conditions of the ground對water resources in the US over time.