Groundwater Resources Branch
Branch Chief: Gabrielle Chianese
The Groundwater Resources Branch (GWRB) within the Water Planning Section of the Division of Water Resources (DWR) is responsible for measuring, protecting, and preserving the high quality of North Carolina's groundwater resources. This is accomplished by maintaining a statewide network of groundwater monitoring wells, managing the Central Coastal Capacity Use Area Water Withdrawal permit program, and implementing the Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit program for the installation of certain types of wells, along with overseeing site assessment and groundwater corrective action at DWR permitted facilities with groundwater impacts. Learn more about groundwater.
Current Branch Goals & Accomplishments
The Groundwater Resources Branch provides technical expertise and management support to private citizens, consultants, industry, and local, state, tribal, and federal government agencies for the development and use of groundwater resources in the State of North Carolina. The Branch is responsible for the installation, maintenance, and measurement of a statewide network of groundwater monitoring wells. Water levels and water quality samples collected from the network wells are used to assess the availability and quality of groundwater, drought conditions, and areas of aquifer overuse. The Branch manages a large amount of hydrogeological data including groundwater levels, hydrogeologic framework, digitized geophysical logs, and groundwater quality parameters. These datasets are available to the general public.
Take a "deeper dive" into Groundwater Quality efforts in North Carolina, including goals, equipment, analyses, and results with interactive and downloadable data.
Programs
Well Construction and Permitting
This program oversees rules related to well construction (15A NCAC 02C) and certain types of well permits, such as those for high capacity water supply wells and groundwater monitoring wells.
Central Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA) Water Withdrawal Permit
The Environmental Management Commission has designated 15 counties as the Central Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area and approved the CCPCUA rules which create a groundwater use permitting process. The CCPCUA rules became effective August 1, 2002 and were readopted by the EMC on January 1, 2022.
- Permits are required for groundwater users located in one of the following 15 counties Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Onslow, Pamlico, Pitt, Washington, Wayne, or Wilson.
- Permits are required for groundwater users of more than 100,000 gallons per day.
- Annual registration and reporting of withdrawals is required for surface and groundwater users of more than 10,000 gallons per day.
Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program
This program is responsible for implementing well construction regulations for injection wells, in-situ groundwater remediation, geothermal heating and cooling wells, and Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) wells. The UIC program protects groundwater quality by preventing illegal waste disposal and by regulating the construction and operation of wells used for injecting approved substances, aquifer recharge and other activities.
Current statewide UIC Well Inventory, as of 10/26/20.*
*NOTE: NCDEQ assumes no liability for the accuracy and completeness of the data attached as information included in this database is inputted and/or reported by governmental agencies, members of the public, industry, and other third parties.
Publications
Annual Reports, Assessments, Monitoring Reviews