CHAPTER 4 

 THE TECHNICAL BASIS FOR GROUNDWATER PROTECTION 



A. 1 Introduction 



Sound resource -based groundwater management policies must rely on a 

 firm technical basis. This includes an understanding of the resource to 

 be protected, and of the many potential sources of contamination that 

 threaten it. This requires information about the resource, scientific 

 knowledge for interpreting that information, and a reliable data base 

 pulling together many different types of information from all levels of 

 government. These preconditions are seldom fully attained, yet groundwa- 

 ter management must be undertaken. This chapter presents CCAMP's findings 

 on these decision-making "preconditions" - the technical basis on which 

 groundwater management rests. The findings of the Aquifer Assessment 

 Committee will be presented first, followed by those of the Data Manage- 

 ment Committee in Chapter 5. 



4 . 2 Aquifer Assessment Committee Findings 



CAMP'S Aquifer Assessment Committee, assembled to ensure that groundwa- 

 ter management programs are based on sound technical information, was a 

 multidisciplinary group of hydrologists , geologists, chemists, engineers, 

 and planners from various federal, state, regional and local agencies. 

 The first step taken by this diverse group was to familiarize all members 

 with the available knowledge and programs relating to the Cape's groundwa- 

 ter and potential sources of contamination. The committee evaluated re- 

 ports and invited guest speakers to describe their research or the pro- 

 grams they managed. 



This examination of the Cape's aquifer and the threats to it led the 

 Committee to focus its efforts on the characterization and protection of 

 the groundwater resource. The committee selected the following issues for 

 examination which are summarized in this chapter: 



-water-table mapping 

 -observation well selection 



-wellhead-protection area delineation methodologies 

 -nitrate-nitrogen loading in wellhead-protection areas 

 -contaminant sources and the behavior and fate of contaminants in 

 groundwater 



Appendix B summarizes a number of Aquifer Assessment Committee recom- 

 mendations relating to: (1) methods of data reduction (for wellhead- 

 protection area delineation); (2) delineation of wellhead-protection 

 areas; (3) DEQE's technical capabilities; and (4) zone of transition 

 (fresh water/salt water interface) monitoring. 



