Tom Christy and Victor Rotonda demonstrate how the Geoprobe® direct push tooling and 6620DT machine were used in the construction of the NGWA observation well. The monitoring well will collect data through the screen interval, 21 to 26 ft. bgs.

Monitoring Well Installed at NGWA Headquarters to Celebrate World Water Monitoring Day

Last fall, Geoprobe Systems® partnered with the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), In-Situ Inc., and EnviroCore LLC, to install a monitoring well at the NGWA Headquarters in Westerville, OH. The purpose of the project was to increase public awareness of groundwater resources. NGWA unveiled the observation well to the public to coincide with World Water Monitoring Day in October.

In August, Wes McCall, Geoprobe® Environmental Geologist, and Chris Rismiller, owner of EnviroCore LLC in Cincinnati, met at the NGWA facilities to collect initial soil core samples to determine the best location for the well. After studying the soil samples, Wes returned to the site a few weeks later with Kenny Thompson, Geoprobe® Customer Service, and a Model 6620DT, and installed the well in less than three hours. Based on the series of soil cores taken at the site (to 28 feet bgs), the well screen interval was set at 21 to 26 feet bgs in a sandy zone bounded above and below by finer grain silts and clays. The 1.5 in. ID prepacked screen monitoring well allows water to enter the well casing as the water level in the surrounding formation rises or falls.
Rodney Sheets, a Hydrologist with the USGS Ohio Water Science Center, and Dennis Kumfer, also with USGS in Columbus, then installed the electronics used in the observation well which provide real-time water level data on a year-round basis. He equipped the well with a Level Troll™ 500 submersible pressure transducer, donated by In-Situ Inc., that measures water levels in the aquifer every half hour. The two most recently measured water levels are uplinked every hour via a Sutron® SatLink2™ data logger and transmitter to a satellite that sends the data to the USGS office in Columbus. Data are decoded, checked, and stored on the National Water Inventory System (NWIS) database.

Enjoying the autumn day at NGWA Headquarters was: (l to r) Jim Morris, Director, USGS Ohio Water Center in Columbus; Jasmine Taylor, Cadette with Girl Scout Troop 1552 in Westerville; Kevin McCray, Executive Director, NGWA in Westerville; Rodney Sheets, Hydrologist, USGS in Columbus; Tom Christy, Vice President, Geoprobe Systems® in Salina, KS; Victor Rotonda, Customer Service, Geoprobe Systems® in Tom’s River, NJ.

Mother Nature provided a near-perfect afternoon for the public unveiling of the well on October 18. Victor Rotonda, Geoprobe® Customer Service, and TomChristy, Geoprobe® Vice President and Civil Engineer, demonstrated how the soil core samples were taken and how the prepacked screen monitoring well was installed. Using the DT325 Soil Sampling System with the 6620DT machine, “we were able to show how easy it was to collect soil samples with our new dual tube system,” Victor said. “We also explained how to interpret the samples to determine the appropriate zone for installing the well.” Tom added, “it’s important that we protect and take care of our groundwater supply. With the advancement of new machines, tooling, and telemetry, such as the equipment used for this observation well project, it’s much easier to get the work done with accurate results.”

The attendees then focused their attention on the observation well where Rodney Sheets explained the telemetry involved to make the real-time information available on the USGS and NGWA websites. He explained, “Prior to satellite technology, we had to go every few months and look at the wells. With real-time technology, we can see what’s going on daily.”
According to Jim Morris, Director of the USGS Ohio Water Center in Columbus, who also was in attendance, “This well joins a network of 870 real-time wells. By watching the information coming from these observation wells, we can tell what’s happening to groundwater in relationship to what’s happening in the world.”

“We hope that by constructing this well and posting the data through our website,” added Kevin McCray, Executive Director of NGWA, “it will serve as a daily reminder that groundwater is the drinking water resource for half of the planet’s population and, of course, is a critical resource for agriculture and industry.” He and other NGWA staff members coordinated the well installation event and provided excellent support to the various organizations who were onsite during the well construction phase and for the event.

Also attending was 11-year-old Jasmine Taylor, a Cadette in Girl Scout Troop 1552 in Westerville who was working on her “Water Drop” patch. “One of the most interesting parts of the demonstration was seeing the core samples taken and the different layers of soil in the ground. I also thought the satellite part was neat because I never would have thought people from other places would want to know this information.”

“I hope this project challenges all of us,” Wes added. “What would happen if half the homes, businesses, and farms in the US were suddenly left without water? Including your home? As the population continues to grow groundwater will become an even more important resource ... a resource that we all need to be more aware of and make sure we protect and conserve for critical needs and for future generations.”To view the real-time well data, log on to either the NGWA or USGS websites: www.ngwa.org or http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/gw. Call 1-800-GEOPROBE for more information about the well installation process.