CHALLENGE

Fragmented groundwater records made nationwide analysis difficult

Groundwater well information is maintained by individual states, with significant differences in how records are collected, structured, and stored. Some records exist only as scanned documents, while others lack precise geographic coordinates or contain incomplete information.

These inconsistencies made it difficult to answer fundamental questions about groundwater infrastructure: where wells are located, which properties they serve, and how access differs across regions.

Virginia Tech needed a common spatial framework to connect millions of disparate well records to individual properties and make the resulting dataset suitable for nationwide research and analysis.

SOLUTION

A standardized nationwide parcel framework for connecting groundwater well records

Virginia Tech researchers used Regrid's nationwide parcel data to associate well records with individual properties.

Regrid's consistent schema provided a common structure for working across state boundaries, allowing researchers to organize, validate, and compare records originating from different state agencies.

Regrid's Premium Schema further enriched the analysis with additional property attributes, including standardized land use classifications.

By linking well records to parcels, the researchers established a foundation for investigating groundwater access alongside ownership, land use, climate, and infrastructure information.

RESULTS

The first open-access, parcel-level map of U.S. groundwater infrastructure

Virginia Tech successfully linked more than 14 million groundwater well records across 48 states to individual parcels, creating an unprecedented property-level resource for groundwater research.

The resulting dataset enables researchers to explore geographic differences in groundwater access and investigate how these relate to land use and other spatial factors.

For planners, policymakers, and resource managers, it offers new opportunities to identify gaps in water access, assess infrastructure needs, and inform future land and water management decisions.

With Regrid's standardized parcel data as its spatial foundation, the research transforms fragmented groundwater records into a nationally consistent resource with practical applications at the local level.

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