Eastern Shore Groundwater Committee to create web dashboard for groundwater supply metrics

Northampton County officials say a new public-facing “groundwater dashboard” is being developed to provide residents with clearer and more accurate information about the county’s water supply, amid growing public discussion and concern over groundwater supply and future development.

During Tuesday night’s Board of Supervisors meeting, County Administrator Matt Spuck said misinformation circulating at public meetings prompted the effort, including claims that Northampton County “can’t have any development of any kind” because of insufficient groundwater resources.

Spuck said that characterization is inaccurate.

“We do have a slow recharging, confined aquifer. That’s been the way forever,” Spuck said, noting that only about 2% of rainfall reaches the aquifer. However, he said that the groundwater system is “very actively managed” through state oversight and permitting.

A recent report from the U.S. Geological Survey found that groundwater on Virginia’s Eastern Shore remains under long-term stress, even as water levels have stabilized in recent years.

According to Spuck, every major groundwater withdrawal request tied to development must go through a detailed review process by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which determines whether a proposed location is suitable based on aquifer conditions and projected impacts.

Spuck also addressed what he described as a commonly misunderstood statistic regarding aquifer usage. He said some residents had heard that 7% of the county’s aquifer was currently being used, but explained that figure was being misinterpreted.

“7% of the pumping that’s coming out is coming from the aquifer,” Spuck said. “The other 93% is coming from other sources.”

The planned dashboard, which would be hosted independently through the Eastern Shore Groundwater Committee, is expected to present publicly available data related to groundwater quantity, quality and usage in a format officials hope residents can easily understand.

Spuck said the site would likely include long-term monitoring data from wells in different parts of the county to show how aquifer levels have changed over time.

“You can see, yes, it’s going down a little bit, but no, it’s not going down to the point where we need to worry too much about it,” he said.

He acknowledged that scientists cannot create a precise “inventory” of the aquifer because its exact shape and depth are not fully known in every location. Instead, officials plan to focus on trend data showing whether groundwater levels are declining significantly.

The county is working with a hydrogeologist and reviewing how other communities present similar data. Spuck said the challenge is ensuring the information is accurate while also minimizing the risk of public misunderstanding.

“What we’re trying to do is present it in a way that folks can understand and not easily misinterpret it,” he said. “There is no crisis with our groundwater, but we do feel led to make sure that information is always available to every person in an understandable way.”