The groundwater of the Virginia Coastal Plain is a unique and valuable natural
    resource. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than 125 million gallons
    of water are pumped every day  from the permeable sedimentary layers and
    lenses called aquifers, supplying roughly 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. At
    this rate disruptions in groundwater supply will become a common occurrence.

      As the groundwater of the Virginia Coastal Plain shrinks, more and more of the
    region's water supply will have to come from non-traditional sources, such as
    desalination and water recycling and reuse.

      For a description of the groundwater system of the Virginia Coastal Plain and the
    problems of its shrinking supply,  click here.
 
GroundwaterVirginia

Welcome
to the GroundwaterVirginia web page.


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

COASTAL

PLAIN
Breaking News

NEW! Governor fails to approve
expansion of the Eastern Virginia
Groundwater Management Area
<CLICK HERE>

The Northumberland County (Va.) Board
of Supervisors approves special zoning
exception for Bluff Point PUD

A FAILURE OF DUTY
Northumberland BOS flubs chance to
protect groundwater supply
<CLICK HERE>

A CLEAR AND FUTURE DANGER
Ticking Environmental Time Bombs at Bluff Point
<CLICK HERE>
Overview