Calling All Groundwater Professionals: Support the National Groundwater Monitoring Network

The New York Times recently published articles on groundwater in the USA, highlighting chronic over-pumping and other challenges. These articles have elevated groundwater to a front-page issue, garnering interest from the public, state and local regulatory agencies, and policymakers in Washington DC.

One prevalent theme is the lack of groundwater monitoring in many parts of the USA. This shortcoming is not news to groundwater professionals, as it has been identified by hydrogeologists, engineers, and water managers for decades. Led by NGWA, a group of concerned groundwater professionals addressed this national shortcoming starting in 2007 and worked to formally establish a national, integrated groundwater monitoring network. This effort ultimately became the National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN), a program authorized by Congress within the SECURE Water Act of 2009 and managed by the U.S. Geological Survey since funds were first appropriated in 2015.

The SECURE Water Act is scheduled to sunset later this year, and so it is imperative that groundwater professionals work together to ensure reauthorization of this vital legislation. Why should you get involved and spend your valuable time to help ensure the survival of the NGWMN? Here is brief background information demonstrating the critical need for maintaining and enhancing the NGWMN and why we need your support.

For years, groundwater monitoring in the USA has mostly been a patchwork of state and local water management agency monitoring networks. Some are comprehensive and well-funded, while others are nominal and even rely on public volunteers for data collection. The USGS maintains monitoring wells in various locations across the country, including its nationwide Climate Response Network (CRN), but it mostly focuses on shallow, water table conditions.

To address the lack of a comprehensive nationwide network, professionals and specialists from the private sector, state and federal government agencies, and non-profit organizations have steadily worked through the legislative process to establish and fund the NGWMN through the SECURE Water Act. The NGWMN is now a cooperative program funded along with the CRN at about $4 million annually through the USGS. The NGWMN program provides federal matching funds to data providers—including state, regional, and local agencies—for sharing their monitoring data based on network design and protocols established in the NGWMN framework document. The program also provides funding to data providers for well maintenance, drilling of new wells, and equipment for real-time data collection.

Although the NGWMN is up-and-running, full nationwide coverage is yet to be achieved, and so it is imperative that we groundwater professionals work to ensure its survival and growth.

Here's how you can participate in this effort. First and foremost, indicate your support of a Bill introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 5770) that reauthorizes the SECURE Water act, including the NGWMN. To do this, you can join your fellow groundwater professionals during Washington DC Fly-Ins, during which you will receive training in visiting Congressional offices to promote specific requests, and how to make “asks” of the members of Congress—including reauthorization of the SECURE Water Act and the NGWMN. You can also elect to contact and visit members of your state's Congressional Delegation at their state or district offices, with help from NGWA and other professional organizations on how to craft effective emails or letters. (Also, if you are a manager of a state agency or water management authority that manages a groundwater monitoring network, consider applying during the annual NGWMN call for proposals to become a data provider to demonstrate to Congress that the program is robust and growing.)

The dedicated groundwater professionals who had the vision and foresight to establish and foster the NGWMN envisioned a program that would play an important role in ensuring sustainable groundwater resources for the future. As highlighted by the NY Times series, human impacts and climate stressors are occurring at an accelerating rate, so the future is now. This is why reauthorization of the Secure Water Act, which controls the future success of the NGWMN, needs all of us right now.