By Federal rule, Ground Water Under Direct Influence is defined as being any water that’s beneath the ground’s surface that is filled with a lot of macro-organisms or that has major changes in characteristics in regards to climate and surface water conditions, such as temperature, pH, and turbidity. At the most basic level, the meaning of this is that the groundwater is located near enough to surface water so that the surface water runs into the groundwater. Although groundwater is most often considered pathogen free, groundwater that is fed by surface water will have been infiltrated by contaminants and must be watched.

The concentration of particulates can be calculated using a three-step procedure:

* Testing to evaluate water quality and the contaminates it contains.
* Daily monitoring on a long-term basis
* Follow-up water quality and particulate testing

If these tests show that there’s a problem, water systems that contain the contaminated groundwater must take certain corrective measures outlined by the Department of Health (DOH). These steps may include using filters, disinfecting, and the specification that the site be run by licensed agents. These treatments are intended to eliminate viruses and other potentially-damaging contaminants from the water, reducing them to a passable level.

The DOH offers several choices to water systems that have been identified as having groundwater under direct influence of surface water. The water system can choose to:

1. Modify the groundwater so that it no longer gets water from the surface water source.
2. Develop a different, approved groundwater source.
3. Put in filtration systems.
4. Attempt to bring the existing water source into compliance.

Well water is groundwater under the direct influence of surface water if the water is being taken from an uncontrolled aquifer, is part of an enhanced recharge/infiltration project, water levels in surface water increase downward flow when the well is pumped, or chemical water quality parameters are more similar to those of nearby surface water than they are to the groundwater.

The DOH has developed very rigid guidelines governing municipal water treatment systems, since a lot of of the diseases prevalent worldwide are transmitted in untreated water. All water sources that are obtained from groundwater under the direct influence are scrutinized extremely closely to determine that the health of the people using the water isn’t being jeopardized.