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NGWA observation well

The observation well at the National Ground Water Association’s headquarters at Westerville, Ohio, provides real-time water level data on a year-round basis — underscoring NGWA's commitment to studying, learning, and sharing knowledge about groundwater, upon which approximately 50 percent of the world's population is dependent for its drinking water supply.

The well was constructed in 2005 in partnership with the United States Geological Survey, EnviroCore Ltd., In-Situ Inc., and Geoprobe Systems®.

Geoprobe Systems provided its equipment and drilling expertise to install the well. The well’s location was chosen from results of core samples taken from ground surface to a depth of 28 feet by Columbus, Ohio-based, EnviroCore.

The well is installed in a shallow aquifer with a screen interval between 21 to 26 feet below ground surface in a sandy zone bounded above and below by finer grain silts and clays.

The USGS, which operates the well as a part of its national network, installed a Level TrollTM 500 submersible pressure transducer donated by In-Situ, which measures water levels in the shallow aquifer every hour. Once an hour, the most recent measurement is uplinked via a Sutron® SatLink2TM datalogger and transmitter to a satellite that in turn sends the data to the USGS regional office in Columbus. The data is decoded, checked, and stored in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) along with data from thousands of wells monitored by the USGS, more than 850 of which are available with real-time groundwater level data, such as those provided by this well

NGWA headquarters are situated along Spring Run, a part of the Alum Creek Watershed, which spans three central Ohio counties. The NGWA well provides important data about both groundwater and the watershed. To view the water level in the NGWA well, click here.

The NGWA well was installed October 18, which was World Water Monitoring Day that year. World Water Monitoring Day, an annual event coordinated by America's Clean Water Foundation and the International Water Association, is an opportunity for citizens of the global community to actively participate in monitoring the health of water bodies worldwide.

A part of NGWA's mission is to educate the public and government decision-makers about the importance of responsibly developing, managing, and protecting this vital natural resource.

Learn more about NGWA's many ongoing environmental initiatives dealing with groundwater, including groundwater sustainability as well as a call for more and better data to be developed regarding this natural resource, by visiting the NGWA Government Affairs section.

Click here to learn about NGWA's award-winning journal, Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation®.

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National Ground Water Association
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800 551.7379
(614 898.7791 outside the US)
fax 614 898.7786
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