Yavapai County is funding gravity studies and water well level measurements by the USGS in the Big Chino and Verde Valley aquifers "to measure changes in groundwater storage and better understand how the aquifers react to well pumping," according to a report in the Prescott Daily Courier. The USGS will instrument and monitor 6 observation wells for 3 years.
[right, well pump houses, Big Chino area. My photo, March 2009]
The wells in this photo are in Williamson Valley, the water produced from these wells come from the fractures in the lower hard rock which is under static pressure. This creates a false water level reading. The USGS is measuring the water levels in the wells, Gravity surveys are measuring the depth to basement (The hard rock) they are then trying to determine storage between the hard rock and the water level in the wells. This creates a false impression of the available storage. The science is good, the application is way off.
ReplyDeleteThe wells in this photo are in Williamson Valley, the water produced from these wells come from the fractures in the lower hard rock which is under static pressure. This creates a false water level reading. The USGS is measuring the water levels in the wells, Gravity surveys are measuring the depth to basement (The hard rock) they are then trying to determine storage between the hard rock and the water level in the wells. This creates a false impression of the available storage. The science is good, the application is way off.
ReplyDelete