Groundwater Monitoring Network will See Improvements Soon with Addition of Dedicated Monitoring Wells

The North Kings GSA will soon make improvements to its groundwater monitoring network through the installation of six dedicated monitoring wells. The GSA will be awarding a contract to a well drilling company in the near future to perform the work.

Investing dollars in a monitoring network ultimately helps the GSA implement the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) and keep local control as it monitors where groundwater levels are at, and how they are responding to local conditions.

Monitoring well measurements are taken twice yearly and act as a report card submitted to the Department of Water Resources to show progress toward groundwater sustainability and proper GSP implementation.

If water levels fall below the minimum thresholds set forth in the GSP, it could trigger further State oversight in the groundwater management process.

Currently the North Kings GSA relies on a network of wells also used for agricultural production to gather this data. But limiting groundwater monitoring to existing agricultural wells can skew groundwater data because of well construction differences and pumping frequency across the wells currently measured. This can also make groundwater level trends difficult to predict. 

Using dedicated wells constructed specifically to take measurements and monitor groundwater conditions ultimately provides a clearer approach to tracking SGMA compliance and seeing groundwater levels balanced in the GSA.