GROUNDWATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION
o f C a l i f o r n i a
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm PST
Standard Time Zone: GMT/UTC - 08:00 hour
Daylight Saving Time: DST not in use
Tim Parker, Carl Hauge, Dr.Thomas Harter, David Von Aspern, and Michelle Myers
Early Bird Registration (by February 8) is $50 for Members* and $75 for Non-Members*
Registration after February 8 is $75 for Members* and $100 for Non-Members*
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Presentation: There are thousands of abandoned wells in California. These wells are not in use, but have not been properly destroyed including sealing (perforating the casing and filling the well with a grout material). There are two key reasons that so many abandoned wells exist in California; 1) Lack of Funding -Most local agencies do not have enough funding to properly administer a well abandonment program, and 2) Lack of Institutional Clarity and Structure - It is very difficult to acquire accurate well location information for these older wells and and the institutional requirements for well location information are often vague. There also seems to be difficulties with the state and local agencies ability to conduct enforcement of existing statutes.
Abandoned wells pose a safety hazard to human beings and animals if they are left open to the surface and not properly capped and sealed. There are instances of people and animals reported falling into old hand dug and large diameter wells every year. Abandoned wells also present a water quality threat to our groundwater resources, as an abandoned well may cross connect water bearings zones and contamination may enter from the ground surface or from the first water bearing zone and flow into deeper aquifers. GRA is conducting a series of Webcasts in 2012 on the topic of Abandoned Wells and Improperly Constructed Wells to help raise the profile of this issue and to help protect our limited groundwater resources. This is the first in that series, which will include the following introductory topics:
• Intro to Series and First Webcast on Abandoned and Improperly Constructed Wells – Tim Parker – 5 min.
• Issues with Abandoned and Improperly Constructed Wells – Carl Hauge – 10 min
• San Joaquin Nitrates Study – Five County Overview – Dr.Thomas Harter – 15 min
• Sacramento County Approach – David Von Aspern – 15 min
• Alameda County Water District – Michelle Meyer, ACWD – 15 min
• Q&A – 30 min
Who Should Attend? Contractors and technical consultants who provide well installation and well destruction services County and local agencies who implement well abandonment and well permitting programs. Regulatory agencies, groundwater professionals and environmental organizations involved or interested in groundwater protection and sustainability.
Speaker Bios:
Tim Parker, Parker Groundwater
Tim Parker is currently is with Parker Groundwater in Sacramento, California, a firm he founded in 2009. He has worked in private and public sector, was formerly with Schlumberger, Law, Dames & Moore, and has worked for California Department of Water Resources, California Geological Survey, and Department of Toxic Substances Control. He is a California Professional Geologist, Certified Engineering Geologist, and Certified Hydrogeologist. Tim serves the Groundwater Resources Association of California as a Director and Legislative Committee Chair, the California Groundwater Coalition as Director, and American Ground Water Trust as Chair. He is a member of the Public Advisory Committee for the development of the 2013 California Water Plan, and is the co-chair on the Water Plan Groundwater Caucus, and participates on the Oversight Work Group for Pilot Projects for the Nationwide Ground Water Monitoring Network, under the Subcommittee on Ground Water, Advisory Committee on Water Information, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mr. Parker was a principal writer on Sustainability from the Ground Up, Groundwater Management in California, a Framework published by the Association of California Water Agencies, and co-authored the books Potential Groundwater Quality Impacts Resulting from Geologic Carbon Sequestration published by the Water Research Foundation in 2009, and California Groundwater Management published by GRA in 2005.
Carl Hauge, retired, California Department of Water Resources (DWR)
Mr. Carl Hauge is Chief Hydrogeologist, retired, for the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Mr. Hauge began his career as a scientific aide at the U.S. Geological Survey, and shortly thereafter he joined DWR and worked on groundwater studies and dam sites in San Joaquin Valley. Later, Mr. Hauge worked for the California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology on earthquakes and urban geology and with the Department of Forestry on forest practice rules for timber harvesting. Mr. Hauge returned to DWR where he studied water supply and demand, groundwater and land subsidence, and well construction and destruction. Mr. Hauge co-authored the book California Groundwater Management published in 2005, and remains active with the Groundwater Resources Association of California. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Geology from the University of California, Riverside and is a Professional Geologist and Certified Engineering Geologist.
Dr. Thomas Harter, Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis
Thomas Harter, Ph.D., received a B.S. in hydrology from the Universities of Freiburg, Germany and a M.S. in hydrology from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. He received his Ph.D. in hydrology (with emphasis on subsurface hydrology) at the University of Arizona, where he became the 1991 Harshbarger fellow for outstanding research in subsurface flow and transport modeling. In 1995, he joined the faculty at the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis. His research focuses on nonpoint-source pollution of groundwater, groundwater resources evaluation under uncertainty, groundwater modeling, and contaminant transport. Dr. Harter's research group has done extensive modeling, laboratory, and field work to evaluate the impacts of agriculture and human activity on groundwater flow and contaminant transport in complex aquifer and soil systems. In 2007, Dr. Harter was appointed Robert M. Hagan Endowed Chair in Water Management and Policy. Also in 2008, Dr. Harter's research and extension program received the Kevin J. Neese Award in recognition of its efforts to engage scientists, regulators, farm advisors, dairy industry representatives, and dairy farmers to better understand the effects of dairy operations on water quality. Dr. Harter authored he book Watersheds, Groundwater, and Drinking Water: A Practical Guide, Published by ANR in 2008.
David Von Aspern, Environmental Specialist 3, Sacramento County Environmental Mngt Dept, Environmental Compliance Division
Mr. Von Aspern's duties at the Sacramento County Environmental Compliance Division include serving as the "field lead" on the Abandoned Well Program, review and assessment of contaminated sites for adequate remediation of soil and groundwater, direction of consultants and responsible parties on appropriate steps to take toward site closure status ("no further action" recommended), and protection of human and environmental health. Prior to employment in the County's Environmental Management Department, Mr. Von Aspern was an owner-associate and departmental director of a Sacramento-based consulting firm, where he and his staff produced upwards of 1000 Phase 1 and Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) reports. Mr. Von Aspern obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in geology from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, and he is a Cal-EPA Registered Environmental Assessor 2.
Michelle Myers, Well Ordinance Supervisor at the Alameda County Water District (ACWD)
Michelle Myers is the Well Ordinance Supervisor at the Alameda County Water District (ACWD) and has worked at ACWD since 2002. In 2009, Michelle was part of a team that developed legislation, the "Alameda County Water District Groundwater Protection Act," which was signed into law and became effective on January 1, 2010. The Act grants ACWD direct authority to adopt and revise regulations and standards for exploratory boreholes, wells, and other excavations. Michelle also developed ACWD's Well Ordinance and Standards that were created to provide a guide for implementing the regulatory authority provided in the Act. Michelle holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from San Jose State University.
Register for this Event -- http://www.grac.org/gracastreg
What's Next?
• March 14th – Abandoned Well Series – Part 2: How are other States managing abandoned wells and well permitting to avoid aquifer cross-contamination?
• April 11th – Abandoned Well Series – Part 3: Findings of Nebraska Grout Study: The truth about the effectiveness of grout seals… these findings will surprise you!
• May 16th – Abandoned Well Series – Part 4: Well Destruction: Standard procedures for well destruction and best management practices under different scenarios.
* This GRA-Cast will use a conference call for audio and a web module to display the presentation slides. For one price, the GRA-Cast is structured to allow more than one person to participate in the presentation (e.g., with a speaker phone and shared computer screen). The price does not include a registrant providing the GRA-Cast call-in number and module log-in to others who are not registered for the program. Each registration will be allowed access via one phone line and one log-in to the web module. GRA reserves the right to invoice those individuals and/or organizations that are logged in or connected via telephone numbers that don't correspond to a paid registration.
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