GroundwaterVirginia
| Bulletin Board |
On behalf of the State Water Control Board, the Virginia DEQ has appointed a Regulatory Advisory Panel (RAP) to discuss the Notices of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) to expand the Eastern Virginia Ground Water Management Area to include the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula and various changes in the groundwater withdrawal permitting process. The notices may be examined at www.townhall.virginia.gov The SWCB has taken action in response to a petition from Lancaster County officials to designate the Northern Neck a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA). The GMA resolution was written by geologist Lynton Land, a resident of Northumberland County. For an illustrated slide presentation on the topic, see How to Protect Our Groundwater Supply. Because of increasing public awareness that artesian groundwater levels of the Northern Neck have been declining at a rate of 1.2 to 3.0 feet per year and are likely to fall even more in the decades ahead, several citizen’s groups, including Northumberland Association for Progressive Stewardship (NAPS), SAIF Water Wells, Inc., and Friends of Lancaster, have pressed for such a designation. Currently, the only GWMAs are the Eastern Shore GWMA and the Eastern Virginia GWMA (see: GWMA map). The statutory authority for the GWMAs is detailed in Section 62.1-254 et seq of the Code of Virginia. Regulatory provisions are described in 9VAC25-610-10 et seq, Contact Mr. Scott Kudlas at (804) 698-4456 or swkudlas@deq.virginia.gov Further information on the work of the RAP will be forthcoming on this site. SEE ALSO "Is opposition to expansion of the GWMA based on political ideology rather than science? --click here -- NEW: Real-time water level data from Surprise Hill, Northumberland County are now available. GO TO: va.water.usgs.gov/ SELECT: Real-time data CLICK ON: Statewide Ground-Water Table SCROLL DOWN TO: Northumberland County CLICK ON: 60L 28 SOW 216A The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of Ground Water Characterization (OGWC), in cooperation with the Northern Neck Planning District Commission (NNPDC) and U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) has started a multi-year groundwater study on the Northern Neck. Unlike the southern Tidewater counties and the Eastern Shore, the aquifer system of the Northern Neck has not been studied intensively, and only a half dozen groundwater observation wells exist for the entire peninsula (none in Northumberland County) See: Map of Monitoring Well Sites. The objective of the current study is to obtain hydrogeologic information including water level and water quality data in order to characterize current and future groundwater conditions on the Northern Neck by installing a State Observation Well (SOW) Research Station. Phase 1 of the project to install a continuous core hole to 1,087 feet was completed last year at Surprise Hill located near Reedville in Northumberland County, Virginia. Phase 2 includes the installation of observation wells in each aquifer present at the Surprise Hill site. Currently, funding sources for additional observation wells are still being solicited. T. Scott Bruce, manager of DEQ’s Ground Water Characterization program, is directing the project. Contact Mr. Bruce at (804) 698-4041 or tsbruce@deq.virginia.gov The Virginia DEQ has initiated an effort to merge the various sources of historical and new well information into one statewide database that can be used for regional analysis of groundwater aquifer systems. The absence of such a database greatly hinders attempts to understand the groundwater conditions of the Commonwealth. (Pennsylvania has maintained a comprehensive database for many years; see PAGWIS at http://www.dcnr.state.pa. us/topogeo/groundwater/PaGWIS/PaGWIS.Menu.asp?c=t.) Historically, several Virginia state agencies have collected well information, including the Department of Health, Department of Environmental Quality, and Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. Major challenges for VDEQ include the fact that each database has its own numbering or indexing system. Duplicate wells exist in the various databases. Duplicate wells may or may not reference the other numbering systems of the different databases. The various databases have varying degrees of location accuracy as some were obtained from topographic quads and others were obtained using global positioning systems. Efforts to sort, clean up, and merge this data are ongoing. An effort is underway by the Virginia Water Well Association and Groundwater Dynamics to distribute electronic groundwater well completion software called “Aquiport” to drillers around the state. DEQ and VDH are supportive of electronic submittal of WWCRs and are encouraging the distribution of this software to drillers and local governments. |
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| Groundwater Management Area (click on underlined topics for internet links) |
| Surprise Hill Monitoring Well |
| Water Well Data Base |