Freshwater Monitoring

Since 2024, CGTC has partnered with the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to study the quantity and quality of water in the Kingshill aquifer on St. Croix. A well monitoring network was created and we’ve conducted multiple data collection efforts before, during and after the rainy season to track how much rain is penetrating into the aquifer. The goal of the quality sampling efforts is to track how far inland salt water has reached to propose management guidelines to ensure chloride levels do not exceed an unsafe threshold.

The report of our findings will be published in 2026.

In 2025, freshwater monitoring efforts expanded to looking into cistern use with the Naval Post Graduate School, quantifying and modeling the relationship between rain intensity and cistern demand for homes on St. Croix. This project is being on with the goal of creating a cistern level prediction model and alert system to aid cistern reliant residents during periods of droughts.