Ambient Ground Water Monitoring Network
Ohio EPA Division of Drinking and Ground Waters maintains the Ambient Ground Water Monitoring Network as part of an effort to characterize general water quality conditions in Ohio. This program was established in 1967 to measure seasonal and annual water quality changes in the State's major aquifers. The network initially consisted of 12 large production wells, and was expanded to 60 wells in 1972. In 1986, the network was further expanded to around 90 wells. A large number of public water supply wells were added to the network in the late 1980's and early 1990's to provide better representation of the major aquifers in Ohio.
The program currently includes over 200 wells (stations). Of the total stations, roughly 85 percent are public water systems and 15 percent are industrial or commercial enterprises or residential. Raw water is analyzed for a suite of inorganic parameters every six or eighteen months depending on the total number of samples that have been collected and the stability of the geochemistry of major elements at the site. Samples are also analyzed for volatile organic compounds once every eighteen months. Some Ambient sites have historical semi-volatile organic compounds and pesticide data.
Locational and lithologic information have been compiled for all of the more than 200 ambient wells for effective geochemical and Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis. Two-thirds of the wells in the ambient network are developed in unconsolidated deposits, and the remaining produce from bedrock aquifers systems.
A central goal of the Ambient Ground Water Monitoring Program is to provide reliable ground water quality data to enhance water resource planning and protection on a state-wide basis. This is consistent with Ohio EPA-DDAGW mission to protect human health and the environment by characterizing and protecting ground water quality and ensuring that Ohio's public water systems provide adequate supplies of safe drinking water.