STATEWIDE AMBIENT GROUNDWATER QUALITY MONITORING IN NORTH CAROLINA

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Division of Water Resources (DWR) has initiated a statewide ambient groundwater quality monitoring program to sample wells in the state-owned groundwater monitoring well network (MWN). With its broad geographic and geologic coverage, the MWN provides prime conditions and an excellent opportunity to conduct a detailed characterization of ambient, or background, groundwater quality from both deep and shallow aquifer systems throughout the state. The program includes collection of standard field parameters (temperature, pH, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, etc.) and laboratory analyses to measure metals, nutrients, wet chemistry, microbiological parameters, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and others. To date, program staff have sampled 276 of 685 wells at 93 of 228 sites in the network. Data is available for viewing and download through a mapping interface available on the DWR Groundwater Management Branch website.

This presentation provides an overview of our mapping interface and how it can be used to investigate the health of North Carolina’s groundwater. The application has the potential to visualize changes in groundwater management, conservation, and emerging compounds. Questions currently encompass naturally occurring contaminants, groundwater contribution to nutrients in surface water, saltwater intrusion, and basic groundwater chemistry of different aquifers.