Charles River Watershed Association: Intro to Ground Water

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Intro to Ground Water

Water is an amazing and useful in every way a person can think of. Living in Boston everyone at some point will take a walk near the Charles River. The river connects everyone from social events to business events along its way. Most people love to take part in activities such as walking, running, hiking, canoeing, fishing, ect… along the Charles. But these are only a small part of the river known as surface water that people actually see take part in and preserve.

Most people forget about groundwater. Ground water pumped from municipal wells supplies most of the drinking water used in the Upper Charles River Basin. "Ground water withdrawn from sand and gravel aquifers provides nearly all of the drinking water for a population of about 100,000 in eight towns in the Upper Charles River Basin (UCRB), which is in Eastern Massachusetts along the Interstate 495 corridor". For more information click on this link (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-042-03/)

Groundwater is connected to the surface water through streams, ponds and wetlands. Therefore, withdrawals from ground water will have an effect on stream flow and the surface water in general that it’s connected to in many ways. It’s important to preserve and study both surface water and groundwater that so many people depend on; by doing so the information can help to guide water managements and regulation problems that many towns face, especially during the summer times. Therefore, organizations such as CRWA play a major role in persevering and studying water to help the environment and the people who depend on it.

Mythreyi

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Welcome to the Charles River Watershed Association's Intern Blog

CRWA's mission is to use science, advocacy and the law to protect, preserve and enhance the Charles River and its watershed.

One of the country's oldest watershed organizations, Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) was formed in 1965 in response to public concern about the declining condition of the Charles. Since its earliest days of advocacy, CRWA has figured prominently in major clean-up and watershed protection efforts, working with government officials and citizen groups from 35 Massachusetts watershed towns from Hopkinton to Boston. Initiatives over the last four decades have dramatically improved the quality of water in the watershed and fundamentally changed approaches to water resource management.

While CRWA’s mission focuses on the Charles River, the implications and applicability of our science-based work go far beyond the watershed’s boundaries. Much of CRWA’s work is cutting edge and therein lies our unique strength and effectiveness: we use our scientific knowledge of the Charles to develop innovative, workable solutions to watershed problems. This knowledge allows CRWA not only to advocate persuasively for outcomes, but also to partner with government agencies and other environmental groups to protect the natural environment and to promote sustainable ecosystem policies and practices.