By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

THE Guam Environmental Protection Agency is hosting workshops on air emission and groundwater quality this week.
Starting today, GEPA, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is holding the third “Groundwater under the Direct Influence of Surface Water,” or GWUDI, workshop.
The workshop will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Guam Plaza Hotel. Bruce Macler and Barry Pollock from the U.S. EPA’s Region 9 Drinking Water Office will lead the discussion.
GWUDI refers to groundwater where water at the surface, like rainwater, can wash pollutants down to a well without any natural purification.
According to GEPA, GWUDI wells need additional treatment to make the water safe.
The focus of the workshop is to initiate a water quality study on the Northern Guam Lens. The study would determine if wells, the aquifer and or sub-basins qualify as GWUDI and suggest appropriate treatment for GWUDI and non-GWUDI wells.
The Northern Guam Lens encompasses the northern half of Guam. Aquifers like Guam’s are generally regarded to be sensitive to contamination from surface activities. GEPA said there are many sources of potential contamination on Guam’s surface, including raw sewage from recharge wells or basins or small-scale farming operations with animals.