Piloting of a National Groundwater Monitoring Network: Meeting the Challenges

In August 2009, the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information's (ACWI) Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW) published a framework for implementation of a nationwide, long-term groundwater quantity and quality monitoring network. The SOGW is continuing to play a key role in leading these efforts, with the ASCE representative to ACWI (this paper's author) serving as co-chair of the SOGW. To accomplish its current goals, the SOGW realized it must address several issues regarding network design, management, and operations. The primary vehicle for this is a tried-and-true engineering approach: pilot testing. Therefore, this paper discusses the foundation of the National Ground Water Monitoring Network, and the pilot-testing that started in early 2010 and which is expected to make significant progress by May. The 2010 Congress and Symposium represent an important opportunity to inform EWRI members, and to learn from them as well as from other participating disciplines, who are involved in and who benefit from networks such as the one being implemented.