National Ground Water Association

Web sites

• www.NGWA.org — home site of NGWA
• www.wellowner.org — information for well owners
• www.groundwateradventurers.org — for kids
• www.waterwelljournal.com — online home of Water Well Journal®
• www.groundwaterexpo.com — online home of NGWA's annual Groundwater Expo
• www.groundwatersummit.org — online home of NGWA's annual Ground Water Summit

Primary staff contact

Kevin B. McCray, CAE, Chief Executive Officer

Founding date

1948 (as National Water Well Association; name changed in 1991)

Who we are

The National Ground Water Association is the hallmark organization for anyone affiliated with the groundwater industry. A nonprofit organization, NGWA is composed of U.S. and international groundwater professionals — contractors, scientists and engineers, equipment manufacturers, and suppliers. Our purpose is to provide guidance to members, government representatives, and the public for sound scientific, economic, and beneficial development, protection, and management of the world's groundwater resources.

Our mission

Dedicated to advancing groundwater knowledge.

Our vision

To be the leading groundwater association that advocates the responsible development, management, and use of water.

Our goals

• To further water knowledge and protection through education and outreach
• To use advocacy to advance the interests of our membership
• To serve members by creating community

• To develop and improve professional practices and procedures for the public’s interest.

Our values

• The whole of NGWA is greater than the sum of its distinct parts
• The informed, responsible, and sustainable use of the groundwater resource is our paramount shared concern
• A true community of professionals includes diverse perspectives that must be heard and considered
• Professionalism in the groundwater industry is achieved through continuous learning and sharing of knowledge developed from both thinking and practice
• Pursuing innovation is essential to sustaining NGWA's relevance for the future.

Membership in NGWA

• Four membership divisions — contractors, scientists and engineers, manufacturers, and suppliers
• Thirteen member interest groups — Aquifer Protection, Deep Groundwater Investigations, Developing Nations, Economics of Groundwater, Geothermal Energy, Groundwater Availability, Groundwater Law, Groundwater Modeling, High Capacity Pumps and Wells, Horizontal Wells, Internet Groundwater Data, Regulators, and Transboundary Aquifers

NGWA member benefits

• Industry leader in continuing professional education offering short courses, workshops, Webinars, and conferences year-round
• Conducts annual trade shows
• Offers large selection of books and other educational materials
• Provides discounts on various products and services important to the membership including commercial property and casualty insurance, contractors pollution liability insurance, and environmental errors and omissions insurance

Board of directors

• The national board has 19 voting members
• Each membership division has an oversight board
• Delegates from the general membership modify the NGWA Code of Regulations

Affiliated organizations

• Affiliate States — 45
• NGWA maintains State Center for Groundwater Policy
• NGWA maintains Resource Center for Association Management for state association leaders
• NGWA conducts an annual Affiliate State Leadership Conference

Memorandums of understanding

• Association of American State Geologists
• Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society
• Geothermal Energy Organization
• International Association of Hydrogeologists
• International Ground Source Heat Pump Association
• Irrigation Association
• National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association
• New England Geothermal Professional Association Inc.

International mutual cooperation agreements

• Australian Drilling Industry Association
• Groundwater Association of Botswana
• Brazilian Ground Water Association (Associacao Brasileira de Aguas Subterraneas)
• Canadian Ground Water Association
• European Ground Source Heat Pump Association
• Finnish Well Drillers Association (Finland)
• National Hydrogeology and Water Well Association of Italy (Associazione Nationale Idrogeologia Pozzi Acqua)
• Japanese Association of Groundwater Hydrology
• Korea Ground Water Association
• Mexican Hydrogeology Association (Asociacion Geohidrologica Mexicana)
• New Zealand Drillers Federation
• Borehole Water Association of Southern Africa
• Industrial Society of Well Drilling in Taiwan Area
• Venezuelan Association of the Ground Water Industry (Asociacion Venezolana de la Industria de las Aguas terraneas)
• United Nations — NGWA has:
• A cooperation agreement with the International Hydrological Programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
• An agreement with the United Nations Environment Programme
• Recognition by the United Nations Department of Public Information as a nongovernment organization

Memberships

• Advisory Committee on Water Information
• American Geosciences Institute
• American National Standards Institute
• Geological Society of America
• Global Water Partnership
• Groundwater Foundation
• International Union of Geological Sciences
• Source Water Collaborative
• Water Associations Worldwide
• WaterSense (U.S. EPA program)
• Water Systems Council
• World Water Council

In the past several years, NGWA has cooperated with more than 200 other organizations worldwide.

Foundation

• Funded the public informational study, "Trends in the U.S. Marketplace for Individually Owned Private Wells"
• Conducts annual Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecture Series in Ground Water Science at universities and colleges around the world (since 1986)
• Conducts annual William A. McEllhiney Distinguished Lecture Series in Water Well Technology (since 2000)
• Maintains the Virtual Museum of Groundwater History (since 2002)
• Awards undergraduate scholarships (since 1975)
• Awards research grants (since 2006)
• Awards humanitarian assistance grants for potable groundwater supply in developing nations (since 2005)

For-profit subsidiary

The National Ground Water Insurance Agency, an Ohio-licensed insurance agency, operates programs of benefit to the groundwater industry and its professions.

Political action committee

NGWA-PAC (established in 1998) limits support only to candidates for election or reelection to the U.S. Congress.

NGWA consolidated budget 

$5.5 million 

Annual financial report — begins on page 6 of the NGWA annual report (PDF) 

Public information/IRS Form 990

NGWA (PDF)
NGWREF (PDF)

 Certifications

• Voluntary certification programs in well construction, pump installation, and geothermal applications — Certified Well Driller (CWD), Certified Pump Installer (CPI), Certified Well Driller/Pump Installer (CWD/PI), Certified Vertical Closed Loop Driller (CVCLD), and Master Groundwater Contractor (MGWC), the latter of which may be earned only after successfully passing all other contractor certification examinations
• Voluntary designation program in drilling and pump systems sales for manufacturers and suppliers — Certified Sales Professional (CSP-I, CSP-II) 

Committees

• Geothermal Heat Pump Technical
• Government Affairs
• Membership Standing
• Professional Development
• Public Awareness
• Publishing and Information Products
• Standard Development Oversight
  
• Water Systems Technical
  

Convention and international trade expo

• 2012 — Las Vegas, Nevada (December 4-7)
• 2013 — Nashville, Tennessee (December 3-6)
• 2014 — Las Vegas, Nevada (tentative)
  

Information services

• A continually updated online database that currently contains more than 17,000 groundwater literature citations from NGWA's publications and conference proceedings
• Standards, guidelines, criteria, practices, and procedures
• Educators resource section on the Web site that provides a listing of groundwater resource materials as well as lesson plans
• An online bookstore that provides publications, videos, and other materials related to groundwater science and well technology

Programs

• NGWA is the industry leader in continuing professional education, offering conferences, short courses, and workshops throughout the world
• Theis Hydrogeology Conference
• Annual Ground Water Summit
• Annual NGWA Groundwater Expo and Annual Meeting
• Special topic conferences
• Regional hydrogeological conferences
• Regional trade expositions management; associations management services
• Offers large selection of books and other educational materials
• Conducts annual trade shows
• Provides discounts on various products and services important to the membership, including commercial property and casualty insurance, contractors pollution liability insurance, and environmental errors and omissions insurance
• Federal government affairs advocacy effort
• Annual Groundwater Industry Legislative Conference/NGWA Fly-in
• Groundwater Awareness Week each March
• Protect Your Groundwater Day each September
  
• Ongoing awareness of groundwater and water well stewardship

Publications

•  Three award-winning print publications expertly cover the groundwater industry:
• Ground Water® — bimonthly academic journal (accepts educational, display, employment, and professional card advertising)
• Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation® — quarterly technical journal (accepts display and professional card advertising)
• Water Well Journal® — monthly trade journal (accepts display and classified advertising)
• NGWA e-publication: NGWA Newszine (serving all members)

Scholarships

Standards, guidelines, and best suggested practices

• ANSI/NGWA Standard for Construction of Loop Wells for Vertical Closed Loop (in progress)
• ANSI/NGWA Water Well Construction Standard (in progress)
• ANSI/NGWA Groundwater, Water Well, and Geothermal Loop Well Personnel Standard (in progress)
• Ground Source Heat Pump Systems (in progress)
• Guidelines for the Construction of Vertical Boreholes for Closed Loop Heat Pump Systems (1997, revised 2010)
• Guidelines for the Installation of Water Systems (in progress)
• Best suggested practices (BSPs) for
• Controlling Flowing Wells (2010)
• Dealing with Stray Gases in Groundwater (2010)
• Emergency Residential Water Well Disinfection Following a Flood Event (in progress)
• Groundwater Sampling (in progress)
• Groundwater Testing (in progress)
• Pump System Operation and Maintenance (in progress)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Arsenic in Residential Water Well Systems (2007)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Boron in Residential Water Well Systems (2009)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Fluoride in Residential Water Well Systems (2009)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Iron and Manganese in Residential Water Well Systems (2010)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Microorganisms in Residential Water Well Systems (2007)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Nitrates in Residential Water Well Systems (2007)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Perchlorate in Residential Water Well Systems (in progress)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Radon in Residential Water Well Systems (2007)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Strontium in Residential Water Well Systems (2009)
• Reducing Problematic Concentrations of Uranium in Residential Water Well Systems (2009)
• Relationship Between Wells with Elevated Iron Levels and Arsenic (in progress)
• Residential Water Well Cleaning (2010)
• Safe Handling of Radioactive Wastes for Water Treatment Devices (in progress)
• Sustained Yield in Hydrofractured Water Wells (in progress)
• Water Well Systems for Fire Protection (2008)
• Water Well System Maintenance (in progress)
• Water Well System Inspection (2011)

External funding

• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Geological Survey 
• U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Indian Health Service
• The Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin
• Michigan Ground Water Association
• National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (Flinders University, Australia)
  
• Red Deer Community College, Alberta
• University of Memphis Ground Water Institute
• Water Management Association of Ohio
  
• Water Research Foundation
  

Honors

• Associations Advance America Award — Haiti Relief Efforts — American Society of Association Executives
• Achievement Award Technology — Drilling Cost Calculator — Ohio Society of Association Executives
• Associations Advance America Award — Well Disinfection Guide for Tsunami Relief — American Society of Association Executives
• Associations Advance America Award — Tote a Toy for a Kid Campaign, National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation — American Society of Association Executives
• Associations Advance America Award — Ground Water Awareness Week — American Society of Association Executives
• Silver Award for Special Projects, Web site — Virtual Museum of Groundwater History — Association TRENDS

Print a PDF version of this NGWA fact sheet.