Trend Ground Water Monitoring

Is the ground water quality in Minnesota getting better or worse? This is the question that the MPCA’s Ground Water Quality Trends Project is designed to answer.

Elevated concentrations of human-related chemicals indicate an aquifer’s vulnerability to contamination. Consequently, our trend network includes wells from our Condition Monitoring Project that have elevated concentrations of chloride, nitrate, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The criteria for inclusion into our trend network is a nitrate concentration greater than 2.5 mg/L, or a chloride concentration greater than 150 mg/L, or detection of a VOC. Once a well enters our trend network, we sample it annually for five years only for the chemical(s) of concern. After five years we sample the well every other year.

The table below summarizes our trend network. Our eventual goal is to have 150 wells in our nitrate trend network, 150 in our chloride trend network, and 100 in our VOC trend network.

Trend Monitoring Network at a Glance

• Long term ground water monitoring vulnerable aquifers.
• Network of 150 to 200 wells developed over time from impacted wells identified through the Condition Monitoring Project.
• Deep and shallow ground water monitoring.
• Analysis for Nitrate, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Field Parameter.

Data

By January 1, 2007, you will be able to link to our data through MPCA’s Environmental Data Access page In the interim, our data is available in the following Excel file:

• Ground water data

Maps

• Trend network by contaminant
• Trend network by well type