
| Dedicated to the understanding and protection of the groundwater of the Virginia Coastal Plain. |
Ten Republican delegates voted against this bill. CLICK FOR THE HOUSE VOTE
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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 |
| 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
The Lifetime Stages of an Artesian Aquifer System: A Conceptual Model for Water Supply Planning
Who Uses Virginia's Water and Where Does It Come From?
Neck and Middle Peninsula |
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) |
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. |