The shallow water table (SWT) group was formed because of the recognition among participants that there is a substantial knowledge gap concerning these systems. There is a need to better understand the processes that drive shallow water systems (e.g. geophysical, weather and climate, biophysical) and the effects they have on a broad variety of systems and resource management issues including but not limited to forestry, agriculture, development, water supply, flooding and drought response, surface and groundwater quality, and ecosystem and landscape dynamics.
Current participants include representatives of universities and Federal and State resource management agencies. The intent of the group is to share information and facilitate collaborations among group members to address specific research or management issues. The SWT group may serve as a forum or information clearinghouse to help non-governmental agencies and others address technical shallow water table issues. Participants may help seek funding and other resources to provide needed technical assistance, sampling, data analysis and documentation concerning shallow water tables on public and private lands. Data collection and sampling protocols may be developed. Information obtained will improve the knowledge base and communications with other interested groups and individuals concerning SWT. For now the group is limiting its focus to the Coastal Plain of South Carolina.
The group currently has not decided what approaches may be used to assemble and document data obtained. Meetings are open to public participation, with the recognition that the intent is primarily technical information exchange and collaboration among agencies and to better optimize benefits from limited resources through sharing information and cooperating on work. Meetings may also provide examples or field trips to sites where shallow water table information is being collected or used to solve management issues. Levels of intensity of study may vary from formal research to basic field assessment and interpretation.
