Internship Application
Organized by the Student Committee of the Maryland Water Monitoring Council and US Geological
Survey (or other relevant agency/group)
Project: Assessing Available Groundwater Quality Data and Requirements for Well Testing In Maryland Counties
Description: The project will explore and document differences among the County governments in
Maryland with respect to the groundwater quality testing that is required for individual, domestic water supply wells, and the availability of the resultant water quality data. The regulation of individual water supplies is left to the counties, and requirements for testing vary from county to county. The objective is to get a clear picture of the requirements in each county including (but not limited to) such information as: frequency of testing, list of constituents, location of wells, number of samples with available data, data retention policy, and format of records (digital vs. paper). Some information for some counties is already available. The student will work with water science professionals to identify data gaps and formulate questions to be asked of County officials. The student will interview or survey County officials to obtain the information. All results will be compiled and summarized in a table or series of tables. The information will be used in the future to determine the adequacy of available data for characterizing groundwater quality across the State, and the feasibility of creating a common water-quality database.
Travel: The student will report to the USGS office in Catonsville at the start of the project and
intermittently. The student will be able to work remotely. The student may choose to travel to County
offices to interview officials or view records. The student will have access to a phone at the USGS office, for use in calling County officials.
Time Commitment: The student will work at his or her own pace, but should plan on an average 5-6 hours per week. The overall project is expected to take approximately 120 hours. The student is expected to check-in or provide updates to the project sponsor at least every other week. A summary of the information obtained must be presented in a table. A presentation will not be required, but will be optional.
Support: The student will be working on a volunteer basis as part of the USGS Volunteer for Science
program, but may be able to get academic credit. The USGS will provide a work space.
Supervisor: The student will report to Matthew Pajerowski, Associate Director at the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. office of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Eligibility and skills:
The student should have at least one year of college completed.
The student should have excellent written and oral communication skills, and experience with
Excel or other spreadsheet package. Familiarity with chemistry and water quality is preferred.
Access to Microsoft Word and Excel (or other spreadsheet program) is required.
The student will gain an understanding of the regulatory framework related to individual water
supply wells, and a basic knowledge of the chemical constituents in water that are regulated. The
student will also learn the valuable skills of researching regulations and interviewing people for
information.
Application Process:
Submit the attached application along with an unofficial transcript to:
Matthew Pajerowski
US Geological Survey
5522 Research Park Drive
Baltimore, MD 21228
mgpajero@usgs.gov
Applications are due by Wednesday, October 4 at 5:00 pm.
The selection process should take two weeks from the time applications are received.
