Kansas Gr een Gui de Your Bi -Week l y Gui de t o Sust ai nabl e Li vi ng

What i s Gr oundw at er Moni t or i ng? Sept ember 12, 2014

Groundwater protection has been an important part of environmental regulatory programs for the past 35
years. Groundwater monitoring wells are one of the most important tools for evaluating the quality of ground
water. Groundwater monitoring is performed in a number of situations with varying objectives. It involves
measuring the physical and/or chemical properties of groundwater on a periodic basis. Concentrations of
contaminants are frequently monitored to determine if they are increasing, decreasing, or remaining in the
same range. Monitoring is also performed at and in the vicinity of water supply sources to determine the quality
of the water and trends of indicators of water quality. Groundwater
monitoring programs normally involve an array of monitoring or
observation wells.
To monitor groundwater, facility owners and operators must install a
groundwater monitoring system that consists of a series of wells placed
upgradient and downgradient of the monitoring site. The samples from
the upgradient wells show the background of the groundwater, while the
downgradient wells show the extent of groundwater contamination. The
required number of wells, spacing, and depth of wells is determined on a
site-specific basis. An example of a monitoring well is shown at the right.
Why i s thi s i mportant? One obvious reason groundwater monitoring is so important is that almost 50
percent of Americans rely on water derived from their residential or public supply well for their everyday
needs of drinking, cooking and cleaning.
In addition, a tremendous amount of groundwater is used for industrial
processes, production, and cooling. If the quality of the water is degraded or
contaminated with hazardous chemicals others are risk. That is no trivial
concern. Not only is this a concern in urban and suburban areas, where
industrial contamination is prevalent, but it is also a concern in our rural
farming communities. The rural communities are where chemical fertilizers,
herbicides and pesticides which may or have been known to impact
groundwater quality. If you would like to learn more about groundwater, visit
the National Ground Water Association.
Disseminati on of Kansas Green Gui de by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, a governmental agency, i s solel y
for the non-commercial purpose of i nforming and educati ng the publ ic. References to speci fic compani es do not constitute a
KDHE endorsement. If you have any questions, please contact the Bureau of Waste Management, at
info@kansasgreenteams.org.