GROUNDWATER MONITORING AND WATER MANAGEMENT – A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP

Functional and comprehensive management of state water resources is dependent on accurate assessments of water availability to influence decisions in times of crisis and to insure long-term sustainability for economic growth and the natural environment. State-wide monitoring of groundwater and surface water resources provide data that can be used by managers to make informed policy decisions. In Alabama, surface water monitoring is conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and groundwater monitoring is conducted the Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA). The GSA maintains two monitoring networks, a real-time network and a periodic network. The real-time network comprises 33 wells distributed across the state in areas outside of anthropogenic influences monitoring groundwaters in all the states’ aquifers. Wells in the network are equipped with pressure transducers that relay water level data to the GSA twice daily through cellular services. The periodic network contains approximately 450 wells that are measured in the spring and fall months. These networks are supplemented by transducer-equipped wells in several caves and springs that contain habitats for imperiled and/or endangered aquatic species. Well depths are variable in the networks, ranging from less than 50 ft to 1,500 ft, depending on the aquifer and monitoring purpose. Data from the real-time periodic networks are supplied to the USGS National Groundwater Monitoring Network. Water-level data from 11 real-time wells is used each month during the spring, summer, and fall months by the Alabama Drought Monitoring and Impact Group as an integral part of their deliberations on setting drought conditions for the state. Wells in the real-time network provide data to evaluate hydraulic head behavior while data from the periodic network supplements this information, collectively providing water managers with information on long-term aquifer trends and water availability. Data from each of the networks is available through on-line access via the GSA website. These efforts provide local and state level managers with information that can ensure that water policy decisions with long-term consequences are based on up-to-date scientific information.