Groundwater monitoring program launched in La.

In partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, the Louisiana DNR is launching a three-year, $2.7 million program to upgrade the state’s capability in monitoring groundwater as well as analyzing changes in groundwater levels and quality. DNR Secretary Scott Angelle laid out details of the Enhanced Groundwater Monitoring and Resource Assessment program today. He says federal funding will cover the cost of equipping approximately 200 additional water well monitoring sites around the state, nearly doubling the existing count of such sites. The program also provides for mapping and analysis of the data collected at the sites, as well as sampling in targeted areas to address potential water-quality concerns. “Effective management of our groundwater is a critical issue in our state, where it supplies half of our drinking water and more than two-thirds of our agricultural water demand,” Angelle says. A 2012 Water Resources Commission report concluded that groundwater monitoring capability is “the single most significant and fundamental groundwater resource management issue” on which Louisiana should focus immediate attention. Get more details about the program at the DNR’s website here.