In 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled on a case that clarified the way that the Clean Water Act regulates the relationship between pollutant discharges, ground water, and surface water. In this module, you’ll find videos exploring the Supreme’s Court’s ruling in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, the science of groundwater hydrology and groundwater quality, and the implications of this case for the lower courts.

Panel Discussion

Prof. Al Valocchi, Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Prof. Pat Parenteau, Professor of Law at Vermont Law School, discuss the legal and scientific implications of Maui in a panel moderated by Reshmina William, 2021-2022 AAAS STPF Fellow. This panel discussion covers:

• The legal and scientific background of the case
• Implications for the lower courts
• The basic science of groundwater transportation
• Tests, models, and analysis that hydrologists might use to address questions of “functional equivalence”
• Case management suggestions for district courts dealing with similar cases

The Science of Groundwater

Prof. Holly Michael, Director of the Delaware Environmental Institute and Professor at the University of Delaware, discusses the science of groundwater. This video covers:

• What is groundwater?
• How does groundwater move?
• What are the different types of aquifers?
• How does the movement of groundwater affect “functional equivalence”?
• How do we measure and model groundwater movement?

More information on the science of groundwater can be found here.

The Fate of Pollutants in Groundwater

Prof. Charles Werth, Professor of Environmental Health Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, discusses the fate of groundwater pollutants. This video covers:

• What are typical groundwater pollutants?
• How are groundwater pollutants transported?
• How are groundwater pollutants transformed?
• What factors affect the fate of groundwater pollutants?
• How can we clean up groundwater pollution?

More information on groundwater pollution can be found here.