User:Quinterochelsea/sandbox

Topic:

• Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program

COMMENT: a student worked on this last year, could be cool to continue building. Julianfulton (talk) 21:14, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

Draft contributions to current existing wiki page: Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program

Under the "Research Projects" column from original article, I am contributing original text: (my individual contributions)

Outline: expand on research projects

- The Supplemental Report -- The Budget Act

- CA Aquifer Susceptibility project

- Assessment findings on pharmaceutical traces in LA basins

- Arrowhead Tunnels project

Research Projects

The 1999 Budget Act

The 1999 Budget Act was the development plan and framework which instructed the members of the California State Water Resources Control Board to begin establishing the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program (GAMA Program). The purpose of the GAMA program is to demonstrate and measure environmental vulnerability and particle concentrations of pollutants in groundwater tables. Various GAMA Assessment reports in Northern California include the state capital of Sacramento on the basis of public safety and water quality. The reports have made contributions from a document called the Supplemental Report of the 1999 Budget Act.

Assessment at the Capital Level

The Department of Water Resources developed a GAMA assessment in 2003 on 168 well water resources in the Sacramento Valley and Volcanic Provinces. The well resources were tested for tritium, a radioactive particle produced from volcanic material. The DWR reported that low concentrations were discovered in groundwater supply recharge, indicating the signs that groundwater recharge systems are active in the region. The low concentrations of tritium indicate that dispersion between aquifers are mixing and that groundwater systems are actively recharging. The collection of samples were monitored from local and regional areas of the Sacramento Valley including the Sacramento Basin and Volcanic Provinces such as the Sierra Nevada, CA and Chico, CA. The Volcanic Provinces contain the Vina and West Butte Basins which are interconnected with the large Sacramento Basin.

In 2003, the California Aquifer Susceptibility (CAS) project managed sources of contamination and assessed water quality for toxic traces of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC).  Volatile Organic Compounds form from human activity and naturally. The process includes an organic compound that undergoes evaporation and the remaining molecules are released into the water or the atmosphere from temperature changes. The assessment is used as a source towards prevention of current water supply to become contaminated.

The main sources of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) described in 2005 from the EPA.

Diagram of the water cycle and the anthropocentric influences that impact water recharge systems.

Pharmaceutical Pollutants

The years of 2004- 2005 Los Angeles Metropolitan area and neighboring basins in Southern and Central California have completed GAMA assessments on water quality which assesses for public drinking- water supply and overall quality of groundwater tables.  The flow rates in groundwater supply are derived by surface runoff, recharge systems from storms, waste and sewage water treatment systems. The assessment discovered traces of pharmaceuticals of human and non-human material being disposed in the groundwater recharge supply. The compounds are introduced into the environment by treated waste and sewage water systems, runoff from farms which include traces of manure, and seepage into water systems from landfills. Pharmaceutical toxic chemicals reported were traces of pesticides, insecticides, caffeine, and various other toxic chemicals. There is a connection that the repeated concentration rates in pharmaceuticals found in the water supply was anthropogenic. There was limited use on land-owned wells because of potential risk to recharge water supply being contaminated, which could have been highly affected by the pharmaceutical traces. The pesticides and insecticide chemicals are said to be driven by human activity, including agricultural practices and irrigation runoff. There is a large indication that there will be a large risk in Los Angeles groundwater supply in the future. Los Angeles is the largest urbanized region in California and increased potential risk factors from pharmaceutical and toxic concentrations on drinking water supply are arising for the City of Los Angeles. The GAMA assessment collects data that is useful for monitoring and protecting future groundwater and drinking water supply. The GAMA Program is useful for tracing toxic pollutants and chemicals that can have harmful effects on human health.

The Arrowhead Tunnels Project

The Arrowhead Tunnels Project shares a portion and regulated under the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) and issued a Special Use Permit to the San Bernardino National Forest. The Special Uses Permit allows other multi-disciplinary services and agencies to evaluate techniques of construction, hydrdology, groundwater dependent systems, impacts on groundwater storage, and how groundwater is recovered. A case study done by The San Bernardino National Forest developed a goal for a groundwater management project called the Arrowhead Tunnels project, in hopes to maintain the current health and vitality of the ecosystem.  The project’s protocol is to monitor and protect the amount of groundwater activity. The design includes two 16-ft tunnels that stretch over 8 miles and about 2,040 ft deep. The success of the project has been effective in terms of measuring base flow, ground water-dependent surface water, and the hydrological processes of the San Bernardino Mountain water table.

References:

Bearmar, M. (2012). Arrowhead Tunnels Project Special Uses Permit - Geo- Sciences Specialist Report. U.S. Forest Service, 1-207. Retrieved from https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/enforcement/complaints/docs/investigation/37_geotechnical_report_special_uses_permit.pdf.

Fram, M. S., & Belitz, K. (2011). Occurrence and concentrations of pharmaceutical compounds in groundwater used for public drinking-water supply in California. Science of The Total Environment. 3409-3417. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.05.053

Glasser, Steve, James Gauthier-Warriner, Joseph Gurrieri, and Joseph Keely. (2007). "United States Department of Agriculture: Technical Guide to Ground Water Resource Management." United States Department of Agriculture Forest, Service. https://www.fs.fed.us/geology/FINAL_Ground Water Technical Guide_FS-881_March2007.pdf

Moran, & Leif. (2005). California GAMA Program: Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Results for the Sacramento Valley and Volcanic Provinces of Northern California. Retrieved from https://www.osti.gov/biblio/15014508