Dedicated to the understanding and
protection of the groundwater of the
Virginia Coastal Plain.
           
  • Senate Bill 569 establishes a Water
    Supply Plan Advisory Committee.
    Passed Senate 40-0 and House 84-10.

  • Governor Bob McDonnell has
    reappointed David K. Paylor as
    Director of the Department of
    Environmental Quality.  

  • International Paper Corporation has
    announced that it will close its
    Franklin, VA mill, the largest
    groundwater user on the Virginia
    Coastal Plain, in Spring 2010.

  • The Virginia DEQ has appointed a
    Regulatory Advisory Panel to discuss
    the Notice of Intended Regulatory
    Action (NOIRA) that will expand the
    Eastern Virginia Ground Water
    Management Area to cover the
    Northern Neck and Middle
    Peninsula. - click here for more -

  • Surprise Hill observation well
    project. NEW! Real-time water level
    data are now available.   - more -

The groundwater of the Virginia Coastal Plain is a
unique and valuable natural resource. According to the
U.S. Geological Survey, more than 150 million gallons
of water are pumped every day  from the permeable
sedimentary layers and lenses called aquifers,
supplying nearly one million persons.
The Virginia Coastal Plain is a near level  area of
approximately 13,000 square miles, bounded on the
west by the Fall Line (close by Route I-95), on the north
by the Potomac River, on the east by the Atlantic
Ocean, and on the south by the border with North
Carolina. Several large rivers, including the
Rappahannock, York, and James, cross the plain from
northwest to southeast, creating a geographic feature
known as the Tidewater. The Chesapeake Bay, a long,
north-south estuary, separates the peninsula of the
Eastern Shore from mainland Virginia.
Although the groundwater supply of the Virginia
Coastal Plain is vast, it is not limitless. Whereas the
groundwater of the shallow surficial aquifer is
replenished by precipitation falling to the land surface,
the deeper artesian aquifers are, for all practical
purposes, a non-renewable resource. Since the
beginning of the 20th century, artesian water levels
have declined as much as 200 feet at some localities.
Currently, water levels are falling at a rate of 1.2 to 3.0
feet per year (see: hydrograph example at left). At this
rate serious disruptions in groundwater supply may be
experienced within the next 50 years.

Last updated: March 7, 2010
WebDesk@groundwatervirginia.org
GroundwaterVirginia
Have a groundwater problem?

Contact a professional
hydrogeologist.
Click on image for a larger view.


AT THE INTERSECTION
OF SCIENCE AND
PUBLIC POLICY


    To the Last Drop?
    The Virginia Coastal Plain is running out of groundwater, and the current laws and
    regulations that are designed to protect the groundwater supply are inadequate for the
    task. New legislation is needed for a new resource age. CLICK HERE.

What's New?

Note: These files require Adobe Reader. Some are rather
large and may take a few minutes to download if your
internet connection is dial-up.

Bluff Point: A New Planned Development in
Northumberland County


From Depletion to Sustainability
  • A Presentation to the Northern Neck Master
    Gardeners, Feb. 17, 2010. --CLICK HERE--

The Lifetime Stages of an Artesian Aquifer
System: A Conceptual Model for Water
Supply Planning

  • This presentation describes a model of the
    lifetime behavior of an artesian groundwater
    supply, from natural equilibrium through
    overdraft to supply sustainability.

Who Uses Virginia's Water and Where Does
It Come From?

Groundwater Withdrawals on the Northern
Neck and Middle Peninsula
  • 2005 groundwater withdrawal data from the
    U.S. Geological Survey. --CLICK HERE--

Groundwater Headlines
In My Opinion
Commentary on Issues That  Affect Virginia's Groundwater Supply
Overview
Satellite view of the Virginia
and Maryland Coastal Plain
(courtesy of Goddard Space Science Center)
    Is opposition to the expansion of the Eastern Virginia Ground Water Management
    Area based on political ideology rather than science?
    The failure to expand the Eastern GWMA to the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck
    will accelerate the depletion of the groundwater supply.
    CLICK HERE

    It's the water supply, stupid!
    If those politicians who bluster about how it's essential that we live within our means
    and not pass debt onto our children and grandchildren really mean it, then they had
    better recognize that the healthy functioning of our economic and production systems is
    dependent on a reliable water supply. CLICK HERE

Welcome to the
GroundwaterVirginia web page.

This is your link to information
about the
groundwater supply of the
Virginia Coastal Plain.