The New York Times recently published articles on groundwater in the USA, highlighting chronic over-pumping and other challenges. These articles have elevated groundwater to a front-page issue, garnering interest from the public, state and local regulatory agencies, and policymakers in Washington DC.

One prevalent theme is the lack of groundwater monitoring in many parts of the USA. This shortcoming is not news to groundwater professionals, as it has been identified by hydrogeologists, engineers, and water managers for decades. Led by NGWA, a group of concerned groundwater professionals addressed this national shortcoming starting in 2007 and worked to formally establish a national, integrated groundwater monitoring network. This effort ultimately became the National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN), a program authorized by Congress within the SECURE Water Act of 2009 and managed by the U.S. Geological Survey since funds were first appropriated in 2015.

The SECURE Water Act is scheduled to sunset later this year, and so it is imperative that groundwater professionals work together to ensure reauthorization of this vital legislation. Why should you get involved and spend your valuable time to help ensure the survival of the NGWMN? Here is brief background information demonstrating the critical need for maintaining and enhancing the NGWMN and why we need your support.

For years, groundwater monitoring in the USA has mostly been a patchwork of state and local water management agency monitoring networks. Some are comprehensive and well-funded, while others are nominal and even rely on public volunteers for data collection. The USGS maintains monitoring wells in various locations across the country, including its nationwide Climate Response Network (CRN), but it mostly focuses on shallow, water table conditions.

To address the lack of a comprehensive nationwide network, professionals and specialists from the private sector, state and federal government agencies, and non-profit organizations have steadily worked through the legislative process to establish and fund the NGWMN through the SECURE Water Act. The NGWMN is now a cooperative program funded along with the CRN at about $4 million annually through the USGS. The NGWMN program provides federal matching funds to data providers—including state, regional, and local agencies—for sharing their monitoring data based on network design and protocols established in the NGWMN framework document. The program also provides funding to data providers for well maintenance, drilling of new wells, and equipment for real-time data collection.

Although the NGWMN is up-and-running, full nationwide coverage is yet to be achieved, and so it is imperative that we groundwater professionals work to ensure its survival and growth.

Here's how you can participate in this effort. First and foremost, indicate your support of a Bill introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 5770) that reauthorizes the SECURE Water act, including the NGWMN. To do this, you can join your fellow groundwater professionals during Washington DC Fly-Ins, during which you will receive training in visiting Congressional offices to promote specific requests, and how to make “asks” of the members of Congress—including reauthorization of the SECURE Water Act and the NGWMN. You can also elect to contact and visit members of your state's Congressional Delegation at their state or district offices, with help from NGWA and other professional organizations on how to craft effective emails or letters. (Also, if you are a manager of a state agency or water management authority that manages a groundwater monitoring network, consider applying during the annual NGWMN call for proposals to become a data provider to demonstrate to Congress that the program is robust and growing.)

The dedicated groundwater professionals who had the vision and foresight to establish and foster the NGWMN envisioned a program that would play an important role in ensuring sustainable groundwater resources for the future. As highlighted by the NY Times series, human impacts and climate stressors are occurring at an accelerating rate, so the future is now. This is why reauthorization of the Secure Water Act, which controls the future success of the NGWMN, needs all of us right now.

《纽约时报》最近发表了有关美国地下水的文章，强调了长期的过度抽取和其他挑战。这些文章将地下水问题提升为头版问题，引起了公众、州和地方监管机构以及华盛顿特区政策制定者的兴趣。

一个普遍的主题是美国许多地区缺乏地下水监测。对于地下水专业人士来说，这一缺点并不新鲜，因为几十年来水文地质学家、工程师和水管理人员已经发现了这一问题。在 NGWA 的领导下，一批关心地下水的专业人士从 2007 年开始着手解决这一国家缺陷，并致力于正式建立国家综合地下水监测网络。这项工作最终成为国家地下水监测网络 (NGWMN)，这是一项由国会根据 2009 年《安全水法》授权的项目，自 2015 年首次拨款以来由美国地质调查局管理。

《安全水法》计划于今年晚些时候废除，因此地下水专业人士必须共同努力，确保这项重要立法的重新授权。您为什么应该参与并花费宝贵的时间来帮助确保 NGWMN 的生存？以下是简要的背景信息，展示了维护和增强 NGWMN 的迫切需要以及我们为何需要您的支持。

多年来，美国的地下水监测主要是州和地方水管理机构监测网络的拼凑而成。有些是全面的、资金充足的，而另一些则是名义上的，甚至依赖公共志愿者来收集数据。美国地质调查局在全国各地设有监测井，包括其全国气候响应网络 (CRN)，但主要关注浅层地下水位状况。

为了解决缺乏全面的全国网络的问题，来自私营部门、州和联邦政府机构以及非营利组织的专业人士和专家一直在稳步推进立法程序，通过《安全水法》建立和资助 NGWMN。 NGWMN 现在是一项与 CRN 合作的项目，每年通过 USGS 资助约 400 万美元。 NGWMN 计划向数据提供商（包括州、地区和地方机构）提供联邦配套资金，用于根据 NGWMN 框架文件中建立的网络设计和协议共享其监测数据。该计划还为数据提供商提供资金，用于油井维护、新井钻探和实时数据收集设备。

尽管NGWMN已经启动并运行，但尚未实现全国范围内的全面覆盖，因此我们地下水专业人员必须努力确保其生存和发展。

您可以通过以下方式参与这项工作。首先，表示您支持众议院提出的一项法案 (HR 5770)，该法案重新授权《安全水法》，包括 NGWMN。为此，您可以在华盛顿特区飞行期间与其他地下水专业人士一起参加，在此期间您将接受培训，了解如何访问国会办公室以提出具体要求，以及如何向国会议员提出“要求”，包括重新授权《安全水法》和 NGWMN。您还可以选择在 NGWA 和其他专业组织的帮助下，联系并拜访您所在州的国会代表团成员所在州或地区的办公室，了解如何撰写有效的电子邮件或信件。 （此外，如果您是管理地下水监测网络的国家机构或水管理机构的经理，请考虑在年度 NGWMN 征集提案期间申请成为数据提供者，以向国会证明该计划是稳健且不断发展的。）

具有远见和远见的专门地下水专业人士建立和促进 NGWMN 设想了一个将在确保未来可持续地下水资源方面发挥重要作用的计划。正如《纽约时报》系列文章所强调的那样，人类影响和气候压力正在加速发生，因此未来就是现在。这就是为什么现在需要我们所有人重新授权控制 NGWMN 未来成功的《安全水法》。