Ivy Groundwater Assessment and Mapping

The conversion of rural land from farming and forest cover to uses for housing and commercial development has significant adverse impacts on ecological, environmental, and natural resources. When housing is developed in rural areas without the extension of public infrastructure for water and sewage, these developments must draw on groundwater, mostly from private wells, for their drinking water supply, and use septic tanks with drain fields for their sewage. This type of land conversion is occurring at an accelerated pace in many parts of Virginia, particularly in the City of Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle County. It is important to know the carrying capacity of the regional groundwater resource in order to ensure that there will be water and septic system absorbing capacity to support current and planned levels of development. Unfortunately County officials do not have information on the availability of regional groundwater resources. As a result, new development permits are granted without information about their long term impact on the availability and quality of the resource on which the majority of private homes depend for their water supply. This project extends the work of a previous Capstone to assess the availability and quality of groundwater from private wells in Albemarle County, and map the results for use by County planners in making decisions about the location and intensity of development across the county. The study draws upon a review of the literature on groundwater assessment, natural resource conservation, smart growth, and collaborative environmental problem solving, including a review of State programs, resources at the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Geological Survey, and a survey of four states in the Blue Ridge geological region. Finding little consistent guidance in the literature on either groundwater assessment methodology, data management, or use of results in decision making, the project developed its own methodology for groundwater assessment using the community of Ivy, in Western Albemarle County as a case study. Groundwater assessment was done using samples from private wells tested with a kit developed by a previous Capstone project. The results were consolidated with data on well construction, flow rate, and water quality, maintained by the Virginia Department of Health, the Department of Mines , Minerals and Energy; and the County Office of Groundwater Resources. The well water assessment results were mapped in ArcGis, and presented to members of a project advisory board for user testing in decision-making about regional development based on groundwater capacity information. Detailed user testing is planned for members of the County Board of Supervisors, and other representatives of stakeholder groups with an interest in land use in Albemarle County and surrounding areas. The results of this work are expected to serve as a model for natural resource assessment and use in development planning for other communities nationwide confronting the issue of urban sprawl and its impact on rural areas.