PUBLIC DATA VISUALIZATION PORTAL FOR STATEWIDE PFAS MONITORING OF AMBIENT GROUNDWATER IN NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina relies on groundwater for approximately 50% of its drinking water use. Because of the importance of this resource, the State has installed, maintains, and monitors a statewide ambient groundwater monitoring well network (MWN) consisting of more than 700 wells. Information collected from the MWN is used to evaluate climatic and human-induced influences on NC’s groundwater supply, as well as for groundwater quality monitoring to evaluate background levels of various constituents (such as metals and nitrates) and for potential contaminants such as pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and emerging contaminants including per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Groundwater monitoring results across the statewide ambient groundwater MWN indicate that detections of PFAS are widespread but generally are low in concentration (<70 nanograms/liter). At monitoring well stations where groundwater samples were collected at different depths in varying aquifers, the more significant detections were typically observed in the surficial aquifer, as would be expected from surficial and/or atmospheric sources. Legacy PFAS including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) have been detected in most monitoring wells where any PFAS detections occurred, however, additional PFAS are often also detected at these locations.

To visualize and communicate these data, the Groundwater Management Branch (GWMB) of the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has created a publicly available online Experience Builder application. This Experience Builder offers the public an opportunity to learn about the GWMB and its projects through an interactive, user-friendly interface for visualizing groundwater quality data, including PFAS, as well as groundwater quantity data. Communicating our efforts and information through the Experience Builder is vital to public engagement and education.