Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Plains CESU

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The South Dakota Water Science Center (SDWSC) is engaged in an on-going basis of characterizing the water resources and ecosystems of the State. Furthermore, the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey provides a national-scale perspective and assessments on the occurrence of various chemicals in the environment and human drinking water supplies. These studies may include aquatic ecology, and the chemical and physical factors that affect aquatic ecosystems and health. Implemented in 1991, data have been collected by NAWQA on chemistry, hydrology, land use, stream habitat, and aquatic life in parts or all of nearly 50 States using a nationally consistent study design and uniform methods of sampling. As part of this on-going work, the program is characterizing the water quality conditions of the major aquifers of the United States. The glacial aquifer system of eastern South Dakota is one of the principal aquifers of the United States to be studied. The USEPA, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), will need to characterize physical and biological conditions across the State. Such information would be critical to those conducting ecological assessments at a variety of spatial scales. The SDWSC conducts hydrologic investigations and monitoring of the water and biologic resources of the State. These investigations may utilize a variety of methods and tools, including but not limited to isotope geochemistry, water quality monitoring and modeling, geophysics, engineering hydrology, statistics, climate change models, and ground water monitoring and modeling

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