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GROUND
WATER EDUCATION
FOR MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS
INTRODUCTION
An EPA funded
project, "Technical Assistance for Rural Ground Water Development in
Idaho", was initiated in 2001 by the Idaho Water Resources Research
Institute and the Idaho Geological Survey, both units of the University of
Idaho. The intent of the
project is to help small communities in their efforts to supply a safe,
sustained water supply for their users.
In particular, the project team members provide technical
assistance in gaining a greater understanding of the geologic and
hydrologic conditions that control the ground water system.
This information is then used to help the communities address
problems such as declining water levels, elevated natural levels of
constituents such as arsenic and radon and widespread contaminant problems
such as nitrate. The
information also allows a more accurate delineation of recharge areas so
plans can be implemented to protect the water supply source.
Education is a
key aspect of the "Rural Water" project since the goal of the
effort is to have the communities respond to the information with action
in improving and protecting their water supply source.
The education must be a long-term effort and must provide
information on a range of levels and formats.
The NEMO
(Non-Point Pollution Education
for Municipal Officials)
program was developed by the University of Connecticut as a way to address
the dominant water supply problems in many areas of the eastern United
States. The program has an
active web site that provides a wide range of information including the
advertisement of a range of short courses that are available for community
leaders. Many of the programs
deal with watershed protection and management efforts.
The NEMO program emphasizes watershed management because surface
water is the dominant supply source for much of the eastern United States.
The
direct application of the NEMO
format to Idaho and other western states is limited because ground water
is the dominant water supply source.
In the case of Idaho, ground water is the source of more than 95
percent of the small community water supply systems.
Small communities within Idaho face a range of mostly ground water
problems. The biggest of
these problems is a general lack of understanding of the nature of ground
water flow systems and a specific lack of understanding of local ground
water supply source available for each community.
This
paper describes the GWEMO
(Ground
Water
Education
for Municipal Officials) approach. GWEMO
is a program that specifically addresses the water supply needs for rural
water users in Idaho and other western states.
The program will be led by the University of Idaho in close
cooperation with the Association of Idaho Cities, the Rural Water
Association, the two state water agencies (Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality and Idaho Department of Water Resources) and other
local and regional entities.
DESCRIPTION
OF THE GWEMO
PROGRAM
The GWEMO
program is based on two complimentary aspects of ground water education.
The first educational effort is directed toward providing an
improved understanding of the basic aspects of ground water occurrence and
movement. The second
educational effort provides information on the specific ground water
conditions for each community.
General Ground Water Education
Planned
units within the general educational program are listed below.
·
Ground water and holes in
the ground
·
Geology as a tool in
understanding underground space
·
Recharge: How does water
get into the ground?
·
Ground water flow: How fast
does water move in the ground?
·
Springs and streams: ground
water discharge areas
·
How do wells work?
·
Water level decline in
wells: What does it mean?
·
Ground water quality:
natural constituents and contaminants
·
Identification and
protection of ground water recharge areas
·
Development of action plans
for community ground water management
General
ground water education would be accomplished in three general ways.
The first approach would be through fact sheets dealing with each
of the topics listed above. These sheets would be available to community officials
through our partnerships with the Association of Idaho Cities and the
Rural Water Association plus the University of Idaho extension program.
The second approach would be via a web site established for the GWEMO
program. This web site would
be linked to other appropriate web sites of interest to small communities
(Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Association of
Idaho Cities, Rural Water Association and others).
The web site would include the fact sheets plus more general
information about the geology and water resource conditions (surface and
ground water) of the State of Idaho. The third approach would be through short courses.
These courses would range from one hour to four hours in length and
would be conducted at no cost to community groups upon request.
The availability of these courses would be publicized via handouts,
the web site and our partnerships.
The
research team for the project "Technical Assistance for Rural Ground
Water Development in Idaho" would develop and prepare the educational
material described above and conduct the short courses.
The project team member charged with educational outreach would be
in charge with designing and formatting the material for delivery at the
optimal educational level.
Ground Water Education on Local
Conditions
Rural ground
water development is constrained by the geologic conditions present at or
near each individual community. Ground
water problems reflect these site conditions and the unique location and
construction aspects of existing wells.
In most cases, education is needed to help community water managers
understand their specific problems and opportunities.
Education related to ground water conditions on a local level would
be provided following one or both of the following two pathways.
·
Description of regional and
local geologic and local ground water conditions based on a review and
analysis of available information
·
Description of local ground
water conditions and problems based on review of available information
plus a field study
The
research team under the project "Technical Assistance for Rural
Ground Water Development in Idaho" would conduct the literature
review and field investigations for each target community and prepare the
resultant literature following the same general content list as described
above for the general educational program.
However, site-specific information would be provided related to the
unique geologic conditions of each community and the particular problems
that need to be addressed.
Information
on local ground water conditions would be available via the same three
formats as described for the general educational program: 1) fact sheets,
2) web site presentations and 3) talks and short courses.
The primary difference with respect to ground water information on
local conditions is the commitment to long-term educational support.
The results of ground water studies will need to be available for
development and implementation of management programs.
Project team members would maintain a continuity of contact with
the community leaders and their consultants to insure that ground water
knowledge is available to support any planning or implementation effort.
The EPA funding
for the University of Idaho "Technical Assistance" project is
assured through October 2003. Continued
EPA support is being sought along with additional funding to support full
development of the GWEMO program.
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