The North Dakota Geographic Targeting System for Groundwater Monitoring (GTS) was first conducted in 1997 as a method of assigning monitoring priority to shallow aquifers. The decision to update the monitoring priority was made in 2015 in response to changing aquifer boundaries, land use, and groundwater appropriation. The analysis was complete and first published in 2018. Additional update to address water levels in confined aquifers was published in October 2019. In January 2021, 68 new aquifers were added to the layer that were included in the "2021 Addendum to the 2019 North Dakota Geographic Targeting System For Groundwater Monitoring". Four aquifer names were also updated and all aquifer boundaries were updated to match North Dakota State Water Commission aquifer delineations and names as of January 2021. The January 2021 addendum report is available online at https://deq.nd.gov/publications/wq/1_GW/GeoTargetSys/2021_GTS_Addendum.pdf; The completed 2019 report is available online at https://deq.nd.gov/publications/wq/1_GW/GeoTargetSys/2018_GTS/2019_GTS_Report_October2019.pdf

The GTS consists of three components: Vulnerability, Sensitivity, and Risk. Each component is given three values: a Value, a Score, and a Rating. The Value is the numeric representation of each component. The Score is a number ranging from 1 to 3, and is assigned based on the Value range. A Rating can be LOW, MODERATE, or HIGH, and correlates to a Score rating of 1, 2, or 3 respectively.

The score of each component is added together to achieve a total monitoring score ranging from 3 - 9. The Total Monitoring Rating is then assigned based on this score: 3-4 (LOW), 5-7 (MODERATE), 8-9 (HIGH).

This dataset has value, score, and rating fields for each component, total monitoring score, total monitoring rating, and DRASTIC and Pesticide DRASTIC value fields.

COMPONENT RATINGS

Vulnerability

Pesticide DRASTIC Value - Score - Rating

0-129 - 1 - LOW

130-159 - 2 - MODERATE

160+ - 3 - HIGH

Sensitivity

Production (in dollars per farmed acre) Value - Score - Rating

0-202.14 - 1 - LOW

202.15 - 356.91 - 2 - MODERATE

356.92+ - 3 - HIGH

Risk

Appropriated acre-feet per square mile - Score - Rating

0-1.243 - 1 - LOW

1.244-33.51 - 2 - MODERATE

33.52+ - 3 - HIGH

Total Monitoring Score

Vulnerability Score + Sensitivity Score + Risk Score = Monitoring Score (Monitoring Rating)

3-4 (LOW)

5-7 (MODERATE)

8-9 (HIGH)

Dataset Finalized: January 2021