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In: Groundwater Coordinating Council, Jim Hurley, Jim Zellmer, PFAS, radium

Former director of the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI), Jim Hurley, last week received a certificate of appreciation for his service on the State of Wisconsin’s Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC).

Hurley spent 11 years as a member of the body that was created by the state legislature in 1984 to both facilitate interagency cooperation of those departments that have jurisdiction over water and foster research, monitoring and education around Wisconsin’s 1.2 quadrillion gallons of groundwater. Hurley was the GCC representative from the Universities of Wisconsin.

In highlighting his contributions, Jim Zellmer said Hurley was invaluable to “funding efforts, placement of postgraduate fellows and really supporting all of the research, education and outreach that has benefited the Groundwater Coordinating Council, the agencies that participate in the council and the state as a whole.”

Two people standing together and both holding a certificate.
Jim Hurley (left) received a certificate of recognition from Jim Zellmer, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, on behalf of the Groundwater Coordinating Council.

Zellmer chairs the GCC and is a deputy division administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), overseeing drinking water and groundwater and water quality programs, as well as the Office of Great Waters.

Hurley said the GCC is an amazing resource that brings entities together to solve problems. He said many other states look to Wisconsin as a model for cooperative groundwater study and ongoing monitoring.

In particular, he called out the research that led to better understanding the scope of naturally occurring radium compromising drinking water in Waukesha, Wisconsin. That work led to the unprecedented approval from Great Lakes governors and premiers to allow residents of this southeastern Wisconsin community outside of the basin to draw drinking water from Lake Michigan as a solution to protect public health.

Hurley also invoked a study about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that was released in early November. He complimented the research team for recognizing the value of drawing on both state and federal agency knowledge along with that of academia. The study presented an important picture of PFAS prevalence and levels in private drinking water wells across the state.

“It was great to see how quickly the state, and a little bit of the feds in there too, and universities responded to PFAS” in the groundwater, Hurley said.

In October, Hurley retired as the WRI director. During his years on the GCC, he managed a groundwater research competition that allows potential investigators to submit to several funding sources simultaneously. Then, the WRI arranges for peer review of all submitted proposals, easing funding decision-making for those providing the dollars for the eventual projects.

During Hurley’s tenure there were 82 research projects funded by the universities and the state of Wisconsin departments of Natural Resources, as well as Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). The research topics were diverse but can be broadly characterized as addressing groundwater quantity, quality and management.

In addition to the DNR, DATCP and the universities, other GCC members include the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and the state of Wisconsin departments of Safety and Professional Services, Health Services and Transportation.

The post Honor for former WRI director first appeared on WRI.

Original Article

News Release | WRI

News Release | WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/honor-for-former-wri-director/

Moira Harrington

On:
In: Groundwater Coordinating Council, Wisconsin Groundwater and Research Program

A new interactive map of Wisconsin lays out, county-by-county, projects funded through the Wisconsin Groundwater Research and Monitoring Program since 1985.

Clicking on each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties indicates the number of projects that have happened in that location out of 474 during the last 36 years.

The map is also a visual representation of where groundwater challenges have been particularly pronounced through the decades. This includes conditions such as naturally occurring radium that’s harmful to humans in Waukesha County (27 projects), a greater susceptibility to contamination in Door County thanks to a thin layer of topsoil covering porous bedrock (25 projects) and water quality and quantity challenges in Portage County (51 projects).

Person checking groundwater level at a temporary well.
A researcher in the Central Sands area of Portage County, site of numerous projects, checks a groundwater level. Photo: Bonnie Willison

Results from at least 120 projects can be applied to statewide groundwater issues, and others only involved laboratory explorations so didn’t factor into the county-by-county breakdown. Examples include projects investigating emerging contaminants or legacy chemicals used in agriculture in many corners of Wisconsin, and assessments of petroleum spills that resulted in contamination or leaching from landfills. Project details can be found on the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI) website.

Most of the researchers who conducted the projects have been based at university system schools. A relatively small number of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources scientists have also led or been a part of the research teams. The majority of the research has been done by scientists based at the flagship campus in Madison.

The largest number of field-based projects took place in Dane County (63). In numerous instances, field work done in Dane County can also be extrapolated to other parts of the state. Further, being able to do research close to campus has been a cost-effective way to gather data without incurring overnight travel expenses.

In 1985, Wisconsin Act 410 established the Wisconsin Groundwater Coordinating Council, which then established the Wisconsin Groundwater Research and Monitoring Program as the mechanism to select and fund annual groundwater research projects. It ensures collaboration and coordination on groundwater issues between the University of Wisconsin System as represented by WRI and the state agencies with groundwater oversight, including the Wisconsin departments of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Transportation; Safety and Professional Services; and Natural Resources, as well as the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, which is based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The post New interactive map details nearly 475 Wisconsin groundwater research projects first appeared on WRI.

Original Article

News Release – WRI

News Release – WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/new-interactive-map-details-nearly-475-wisconsin-groundwater-research-projects/

Moira Harrington

On:
In: GCC, Ginder-Vogel, Groundwater Coordinating Council, Groundwater Research and Monitoring Program, Wisconsin Groundwater Coordinating Council

In the classic game of rock, paper, scissors—during each round—one of these mock items formed by participants’ hands comes out on top. In thinking about groundwater and with a scientific twist, rock always comes out on top. That’s because it is an important factor in the nature of groundwater. As water moves in under-the-surface aquifers, toxic minerals—such as naturally occurring radium—can leach out of surrounding rock and into the water.

Matt Ginder-Vogel could be seen as a pro in the science edition of rock, paper, scissors. That’s because his research combines geochemistry with hydrology to understand the impact of drinking water well placement and what the surrounding rock has infused into that water. “I’m more of a geochemist,” he said as a way of labeling himself.

Researcher Matt Ginder-Vogel credits funding support from the Groundwater Research and Monitoring Program for his findings in naturally occurring water contaminants.

Thanks to the Wisconsin Section of the American Water Works Association (WIAWWA), he can now also label himself as an award winner because the professional organization that offers support for those who manage and protect water systems will confer its 2020 research award on Ginder-Vogel.

“I looked at the list of those who have won before. It is people whose work and body of research I respect and admire. It (the award) is really meaningful. I’m psyched to be among those people on that list,” said the professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Terry Vandenbusch, chair of the Research Committee of WIAWWA and a water quality analyst with Milwaukee Water Works, said the annual award is, “Given to recognize individuals who have made research contributions to water science and water supply. Wisconsin-based people working in or to the benefit of the drinking water industry. All of Matt’s overall body of work contributed to him becoming the 2020 WIAWWA Research Award Winner.”

He continued by noting that Ginder-Vogel and his research team, “have been evaluating how geochemistry affects sources of radium and its parent elements as well as laboratory methods that more precisely quantify radium species (226 and 228) in groundwater.  Also, the work of his group pertaining to elemental cycling and mobility in general is very valuable to the water industry.”

Ginder-Vogel has been funded through the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on three projects through what is known as the Groundwater Research and Monitoring Program (GRMP), which he termed “so important.” He said he appreciated past project reviews and funding, as well as “the consistent nature of the program. I got one grant that we turned into a National Science Foundation grant. Then we pulled in two students to work on this. They were NSF fellows. We turned a two-year project into a five-year project.”

That project had been focused on manganese and iron. His other GRMP project examined radium and well drilling. The third took a broader look at radium using a statewide dataset housed at the DNR. The projects are linked, Ginder-Vogel noted, because, “Water utilities are moving from shallow wells to deeper ones and there are the implications of those deeper wells. As we move to deeper wells, we have to appreciate what a deeper well might mean. There might be PFAS or other contaminants.”

The WIAWWA will confer the research award in September. In his acceptance remarks, Ginder-Vogel is likely to stress how he values collaborating with others on groundwater research—the DNR, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and the U.S Geological Survey to, “Push forward the knowledge. We want people to be aware, be cognizant and use the best possible water management to make sure the water is safe.”

Original Article

News Release – WRI

News Release – WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/uw-madison-geochemist-funded-by-the-groundwater-research-and-monitoring-program-wins-statewide-water-research-award/

Moira Harrington