A PILOT PROGRAM FOR A NATIONAL GROUNDWATER MONITORING NETWORK—KEY FACTORS AND TIMELINE

The Advisory Committee on Water Information Subcommittee on Ground Water (ACWI-SOGW), formed in 2006, produced a document that outlines procedures for a long-term, nationwide groundwater quality and quantity network (NGWMN). The document is intended to be a framework for local, state, and Federal organizations that collect groundwater data so that their data will be comparable and can be included in a nationally consistent network. As part of the process to foster and grow this network, a pilot program was begun in October 2009 to test key concepts of the framework.

Key factors of the ACWI-SOGW pilot program are the following:

• Principal aquifers, as defined by the U.S. Geological Survey, are the geographic emphasis of the NGWMN.
• Two subnetworks—an ambient (unstressed) and targeted (stressed) subnetwork—will be monitored for each aquifer.
• Water-quantity data (as water levels) and water-quality data will be collected.
• Fundamental elements of the framework document and the pilot program include network design, common.
• field practices, data standards, and data management.
• A data-management system to facilitate sharing of data is an integral part of the NGWMN.

ACWI-SOGW solicited potential pilot organizations with the understanding that each pilot would test the framework concepts and the data-management system within 12 months of selection and submit a report at the end of 18 months. The pilot studies have been selected and are currently underway. A brief synopsis of the pilot programs will be given.