COASTAL GROUNDWATER WATCH: A CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT TO MONITOR GROUNDWATER LEVELS IN THE SURFICIAL AQUIFER OF THE NORTH CAROLINA COASTAL PLAIN

Coastal communities on Bogue Banks (NC) experience frequent storm water flooding after major precipitation events. In order to test the hypothesis that the shallow watertable of the surficial aquifer contributes to storm water flooding on the island, a total of 9 citizen scientists were enlisted to measure water levels in 16 shallow groundwater monitoring wells over a 10-week period.

Prior to collecting water level data, the participants took part in an informational and training workshop to learn about groundwater systems and water level monitoring protocols. All the participants were then given a water level meter and asked to measure groundwater levels at a set time, once a week for a total of 10 weeks. At least 3 participants volunteered to monitor more than one groundwater well during the period. Once the data were collected, the participants submitted the data to the project scientist who then processed the data in readiness for interpretation by the participants.

Results indicate that eight participants recorded at least one water level measurement during the study period. Of these, 75% met the expectation of recording at least one water level measurement each week over a 10-week period. Several (n=3) of the participants, without prompting, collected more than the minimum number of expected measurements. During a focus group session, the participants analyzed the preliminary data that was processed by the scientist, noting any deficiencies and challenges with interpretation of the data. The participants noted that their environmental literacy improved during the study so much so that some of them were able to write articles in local publications about their monitoring efforts and enlist family members and neighbors to assist them in the project. Improvements in participant knowledge/perception was corroborated by results from post-test surveys that were administered to the participants. This study highlights the experiences and lessons learned during the project that may be useful for other researchers that utilize citizen science projects to improve environmental literacy through collection of environmental data.