Groundwater source assessment program for the state of Hawaii, USA: methodology and example application

Whittier, Robert B.; Rotzoll, Kolja; Dhal, Sushant; El-Kadi, Aly I.; Ray, Chittaranjan; Chang, Daniel

Groundwater source assessment program for the state of Hawaii, USA: methodology and example application | Programme d’évaluation de la ressource en eau souterraine pour l’état de Hawaï, USA: Méthodologie et exemple d’application Grundwasserbeurteilungsprogramm für Hawaii, USA: Methoden und Beispielanwendung Programa de evaluación de aguas subterráneas para el estado de Hawaii, EEUU: Metodología y ejemplo de aplicación 美国夏威夷地下水源评价程序 : 方法和实例应用 Programa de avaliação das origens de água subterrânea para o estado do Hawaii, EUA: Metodologia e exemplo de aplicação

2010

The 1996 reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act required that each state in the US addresses the protection of public drinking water sources, including the development and implementation of a source-water assessment program. Such a program includes delineating source-water assessment areas, inventorying potential contaminant sources within this area, and determining the water system's susceptibility to contamination. The public was also involved in various phases of the program. Hawaii’s groundwater source assessment program is presented, along with an approach for implementation, which is consistent with federal requirements. The approach integrates groundwater models, aquifer databases, and a geographic information system. Source assessment areas were delineated by using numerical groundwater-flow models that used site-specific data to their fullest availability. The proposed approach is flexible enough to allow easy future updates as more sources are identified or as new information becomes available. The final product includes numerical scores that quantify the relative source susceptibility to contamination. Aquifer models developed in this study are potentially useful for future site-specific protection efforts or for other modeling purposes.

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