Be Counted in Prince William

Prince William County and the Board of County Supervisors has begun the 2021-2024 Strategic Planning process. The Strategic Plan Development Team consists of Board appointees and County staff members. Part of the process requires community input and feedback that will help ensure resources are targeted to the most important and critical needs of Prince William County. Just by filling out the quick survey (linked below) from the Planning Department your opinion will be counted and your voice heard.

However, the survey has entirely overlooked sustainable water. Prince William County is planning for a future where they do not guarantee that all residents have an adequate, good quality and sustainable water supply. Sustainability of groundwater is hyper-local. Little is known about the sustainability of our groundwater basins in Prince William County, but potential problems are still at a manageable stage. We need to know if the current and planned use of our groundwater is sustainable even in drought years. We need to understand how ground cover by roads, parking lots and buildings will impact groundwater recharge and what level of groundwater withdrawals are sustainable on site to determine if a proposed change in land use or additional use of groundwater is sustainable before it is granted. We need to understand our groundwater and plan for sustainable water.

When I replaced my pump last spring, I took the opportunity to have my static water level measured. The measured level was 43 feet below grade. Sixteen years ago when the well was installed the static water level was 30 feet below grade. Though the recharge is still good it appears that the groundwater table is falling- 13 feet in 16 years. My neighborhood of 10 acre homes was built about 16 years ago. Groundwater levels can be affected by how many other wells draw from the aquifer, how much groundwater is being used in the surrounding area for agricultural, private or public supply, or how much groundwater is being recharged.

Development of an area can impact groundwater recharge. Land use changes that increases impervious cover from roads, pavement and buildings does two things. It reduces the open area for rain and snow to seep into the ground and percolate into the groundwater and the impervious surfaces cause stormwater velocity to increase preventing water from having enough time to percolate into the earth, increasing storm flooding and preventing recharge of groundwater from occurring. Slowly, over time, this can reduce groundwater supply and the water table falls.

The U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, maintains a group of groundwater monitoring wells in Virginia that measure groundwater conditions daily and can be viewed online. Only one of wells is a few miles northwest of here just west of Route 15. The land use around that well has not changed in decades. Daily monitoring data available from that well go back to 2004 (other records exist covering 39 years 1975-2014, but are no longer available on line). What can be seen in the graph below is the slow decline in the water level despite not experiencing any significant droughts since 2008 and having the wettest year on record in 2018. The decline is modest over this period compared to my well, but will continue and get worse over time especially if demand for groundwater is increased and impervious surfaces continue to grow, reducing recharge.

We need to plan for sustainable groundwater for private use and the public supply wells that still draw on groundwater. Please fill out the survey and WRITE IN SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER and Adequate and Sustainable Water. 

from USGS

The County says that they are compiling demographic data because they would like responses from a broad cross-section of the community. They assure us all responses are anonymous. Here is the link for the survey and please share it with your neighbors and have all our voices counted.

https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5635864/2021-2024-Strategic-Plan-Survey