Distribution of Office of Ground Water strategic plan To: "File WRD Archive, , Reston, VA "Subject: OGW Tech MM 95.04 (needs to be put in Mosaid) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Wed, 10 Apr 1996 13:37:09 -0400 From: "Velvie E Stockdale, Office Automation Assistant, Reston, VA " In Reply Refer To: April 18, 1995 Mail Stop 411 OFFICE OF GROUND WATER TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM NO. 95.04 Subject: Distribution of Office of Ground Water strategic plan During the Advanced Ground-Water Seminar held in October 1994, in Denver, Colorado, the Office of Ground Water (OGW) distributed, as a part of the notebook for the seminar, a short document describing the focus areas, staffing, and reorganization of the OGW. This memorandum formally distributes an updated version of this document (Attachment). Please share this with those involved in ground- water activities in your office. We welcome feedback on the attached plan and our activities in general. /s/ William M. Alley Chief, Office of Ground Water Attachment Distribution: A, B, S, FO, PO ATTACHMENTS April 18, 1995 The Office of Ground Water The Office of Ground Water (OGW) provides Water Resources Division (WRD) leadership in the ground-water discipline for technology transfer and training, and fosters the development and application of new techniques and tools for collection, analysis, and interpretation of ground-water data. The Office also maintains a system of District reviews to assure the technical excellence of WRD field programs in ground-water hydrology, provides policy advice to the Chief Hydrologist, and serves as a focal point for public, Congressional, and other Federal agency inquiries related to ground-water resources. The present staff and organization of OGW are shown in figure 1. Challenges The demands on WRD ground-water expertise have grown greatly during the past decade, highlighting the importance of technology transfer and training. Because of the tremendous growth of ground-water science and technology, OGW must carefully select from numerous technologies and issues on which to focus its energies. Furthermore, the principal needs of field programs for OGW assistance change over time with a commensurate change in the required technical expertise of the OGW staff. Focus Areas The OGW is presently focusing on four general topical areas for technical support: (1) ground-water modeling, (2) geophysics, (3) ground-water quality and geochemistry, and (4) ground-water data. The latter two areas are relatively new technical support areas for the OGW. In addition, the OGW has formalized its activities in ground-water modeling through establishment of a Model Applications and Support Group, and activities in geophysics through establishment of the Branch of Geophysical Applications and Support. The Model Applications and Support Group (MASG) has been established in OGW to provide review, oversight, and coordination of ground-water modeling activities in WRD through training; user assistance; and model development, testing, and documentation. The MASG is composed principally of Arlen Harbaugh and Dave Pollock, with periodic assistance from other OGW staff and selected hydrologists from Districts and the National Research Program (NRP). The Branch of Geophysical Applications and Support (BGAS) was established in October 1993 to provide coordinated assistance and expertise in the application of geophysical techniques to water-resource investigations and research in WRD. The Branch is co-located with the District office in Hartford, Connecticut. Pete Haeni is the Chief of the Branch and is assisted full-time by Gary Placzek and John Lane, and part-time by John Williams, Albany, New York, who serves as the OGW Borehole Geophysics Advisor. The new ground-water quality and geochemistry focus is spear- headed by James LaBaugh, who has recently transferred to OGW from the NRP. His tasks will be closely coordinated with the Office of Water Quality. While data issues must be addressed in all focus areas, technical assistance on development of standards and policies for ground-water database management, applications, and quality assurance is needed in WRD. To support this need, OGW has established a Ground-Water Data Coordinator position. Jilann Brunett, formerly with the Alaska District, is currently serving as the OGW Data Coordinator. In addition to its technical support activities, OGW coordinates the Hydrogeology of Critical Aquifers Program (formerly the Regional Aquifer-System Analysis-RASA Program) and the Nuclear Waste Hydrology Program of WRD. The RASA Program was started in 1978 to develop quantitative appraisals of major aquifer systems in the United States and is also producing a National Ground- Water Atlas. The program was renamed Hydrogeology of Critical Aquifers in 1995, to embrace an expanded role in evaluating shallow aquifer systems dominated by surface- and ground-water interactions. The Nuclear Waste Hydrology (NWH) Program has concentrated in recent years on research related to siting, monitoring, and performance of low-level radioactive waste sites. Funding for the NWH Program ceased at the end of fiscal year 1993; however, OGW continues to provide advice and consultation on low-level waste hydrology to the WRD, Director's office, and other Federal agencies. Staffing In order to operate effectively in a changing environment, OGW maintains a flexible operational and staffing plan. Our goal is to make increasing use of 1- to 4-year term assignments to OGW. Persons brought to OGW for these term assignments will be given specific tasks within their particular expertise and be charged with fostering technology transfer and training in their assigned area. They also will participate in general OGW activities. The goal is for the individuals selected to contribute their expertise to the WRD ground-water program during their tenure in OGW and to return to a District or to NRP with a broader perspective on the Division's ground-water program. This will help maintain a strong technical link between OGW and the Division's programs and ensure a continual flow of ideas between the field and OGW. It is expected that individuals brought to OGW will continue to contribute to the WRD ground-water program well after they leave OGW. The term assignment can be done on a TDY or per diem basis with the individual reassigned to their duty station at the completion of the term assignment. Interested persons should contact the Chief, Office of Ground Water. Communication and Networking A list of topical areas requiring some expertise in the OGW is shown in table 1. Clearly, the OGW staff cannot provide all of the expertise listed in table 1. Thus, the help of many other individuals in carrying out OGW's responsibilities is essential. In particular, the OGW relies heavily on technical expertise and advice from the four Regional Ground-Water Specialists. In addition, experts in the Districts and NRP are tapped to serve as technical advisors. A key historic strength of OGW is the network of individuals throughout the Division who can be called upon to help with short-term Division needs in ground water. The OGW continues to make every effort to expand and broaden this network. Selected individuals are brought into OGW for short-term (usually a week) details to help with day-to- day activities and also to provide insights on future directions of the Division's ground-water programs. OGW makes use of short- term (6-month to 1-year) task groups to advise OGW and the Division on key scientific and technical issues. Current examples include a task group developing guidelines for District ground-water QA plans and a task group preparing a submersible pressure transducer handbook. Special efforts also are being made by OGW to facilitate communication and technology transfer with other programs outside the traditional District and NRP contacts such as the Yucca Mountain project, programs within other USGS Divisions, and international programs and organizations such as the International Standards Organization (ISO). Attachment OFFICE OF GROUND WATER Chief Bill Alley Assistant Chief Ken Hollett Branch of Nuclear Waste Hydrology Newell Trask (Chief) Ray Wallace Technical Support Chuck Appel Jilann Brunett (Data Coordinator) Jim LaBaugh (Water Quality and Geochemistry) Mary Amos Velvie Stockdale Model Applications and Support Group Arlen Harbaugh Dave Pollock Hydrogeology of Critical Aquifers, Austin, Texas Hayes Grubb (Chief) Branch of Geophysical Applications and Support, Hartford, Connecticut Pete Haeni (Chief) Gary Placzek John Lane John Williams (Borehole Geophysics Advisor; Part-Time; NY) Figure 1 -- Office of Ground Water Organizational Chart. Table 1 -- Topical Areas Requiring Some Expertise in the Office of Ground Water Aquifer/hydrogeologic unit nomenclature Aquifer testing Contaminant hydrology - Network design - Remediation issues - Site characterization Drilling and monitoring well installation methods Evapotranspiration Fractured-rock hydrology Geochemistry - Isotopic studies - Modeling Geology and hydrogeologic characterization Geophysics - Borehole - Surface Geostatistics Ground-water hydraulics Ground-water modeling - Flow - Optimization - Parameter estimation - Transport Instrumentation Karst hydrology Nuclear hydrology - High-level wastes - Low-level wastes Recharge - Artificial - Natural Regional studies - Hydrology - Water quality Saltwater/freshwater interactions Sampling methods Subsidence Subsurface microbiology Surface-water/ground-water interactions - Lakes - Streams - Wetlands Unsaturated zone hydrology - Field methods - Models