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U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Status of water-level network, Elbert County Colorado, February, 2016 By Rhett R. Everett Memo February 22, 2016 ---PAGE BREAK--- ii Contents Contents ii Project Basics 1 Elbert County Water Use 2 Elbert County Well Permits 2 Elbert County Water Level Data 3 Publications Relevant to Elbert County 5 References Cited Error! Bookmark not defined. Figures No figures. Tables No tables. ---PAGE BREAK--- iii Abbreviations ARAP Well completed in the Arapahoe aquifer ARAPMAS Well completed in the Arapahoe aquifer CDWR Colorado Division of Water Resources DAWMAS Well completed in the Dawson (upper of lower) aquifer DENV Well completed in the Denver aquifer LARA Well completed in the Laramie Fox-Hills aquifer LDAW Well completed in the lower Dawson aquifer NAWQA National Water-Quality Assessment NWIS National Water Information System NWISWeb National Water Information System Web interface UDAW Well completed in the upper Dawson aquifer USGS U.S. Geological Survey ---PAGE BREAK--- 1 Status of water-level network, Elbert County Colorado, February, 2016 By Rhett R. Everett Project Basics Started soliciting volunteers and measuring water levels in January 2015 Currently 42 wells in the network (11 upper Dawson, 10 lower Dawson, 7 Denver, 9 Arapahoe, 5 Laramie Fox Hills) *contract with CWCB states 30 wells will be monitored! Water levels measured (February, April, June, August, October, and December) Water levels are measured to the 100th of a foot Transducers are currently installed in 6 wells, (2 upper Dawson, 2 lower Dawson, 1 Denver, 0 Arapahoe, 1 Laramie Fox Hills) GPS Survey of well head elevation will be completed during the spring of 2016 Water level data is available on the USGS web site http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis See NWIS Web section at the end of the report ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 Elbert County Water Use All data in this section is from Ivahnenko, Tamara, and J.L., 2010, Estimated withdrawals and use of water in Colorado, 2005: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010– 5002, 61 p. A 1,538-mi2 portion of eastern Elbert County is underlain by the Denver Basin aquifer system, and groundwater pumped from the aquifers is the primary source of municipal and domestic water supply. Estimated Percentage of the Withdrawal from the Denver Basin in 2005 for Elbert County: 4% Estimated Percentage of the Total Withdrawal from the Denver Basin in 2005 for Elbert County: Alluvial- upper Dawson- 33%, lower Dawson- 14%, Denver- Arapahoe- Laramie-Fox Hills- 1% Estimated Water Use in 2005 for Elbert County- 29.43 Mgal/d: Public Supply- 20.82 Mgal/day- 71%; Irrigation- 4.24 Mgal/day- 14%; Domestic/Livestock- 3.54 Mgal/day- 12%; Commercial- 0.75 Mgal/day- Household (domestic)- 0.08 Mgal/day- Estimated Water Use in 2005 for Elbert County-29.43 Mgal/d: Alluvial- upper Dawson- 20%; lower Dawson- 25%; Denver- 27%; Arapahoe- 17%; Laramie-Fox Hills- Elbert County Well Permits Over 14,600 Permit Events in Elbert County ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 Approximately 5,500 events are not valid wells: 461- Outside Elbert County; 461- Outside Elbert County; 557- Abandoned; 2,247 Extended or Unknown; 658- No Status Remarks 9,311 Active Wells in Elbert County; 7,249 Domestic; 1,446 Stock; 235 Irrigation; 47 Municipal; 289 “Other” 5,096 Wells with Complete Records: 53 Alluvial- 2,875 upper Dawson- 56%; 550 lower Dawson- 11%; 931 Denver- 18%; 427 Arapahoe- 260 Laramie-Fox Hills- 5% Elbert County Water Level Data See ElbertCounty_InitialWaterLevels.xls for summary of water level changes Began water level measurements in Jan 2015 14 of the wells in the current network have water levels previously measures by the USGS, most in 2004/2005 To date (3/1/15) 296 manual water-level measurements have been made for this project For most wells the water level in June 2015 was higher than February 2015- average 0.30 ft higher. This is not typical, water levels usually decline during the summer months. All wells have at least one reported water level measured by the driller when the well was drilled Pressure transducers with data recorders are installed in 6 wells. They hourly water level measurements will be available on the web in the near future. Wells with Water Level Data: Municipal Wells (48), DWR Network (27), USGS (>200) Division of Water Resources 2014 Report http://dwrweblink.state.co.us/dwrweblink/0/doc/2769958/Electronic.aspx?searchid=f8f4e13a- 93f5-431f-b05f-9595af1b69e0 ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 DWR Report shows between 2009 and 2014 water levels declined in most wells between 0 to 4 feet. Between 2004 and 2014 water levels were mixed; some declined 0 to 4 feet some rose 0 to 4 feet. NWISWeb Water level data ( current and historic) is published to the web via the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) Web interface (NWISWeb). Link to site table: http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/inventory?multiple_site_no=393016104392601%2C 392133104310201%2C392856104393801%2C391924104374101%2C39235510438200 1%2C392203104342301%2C392130104341401%2C391915104375001%2C391126104 354701%2C391545104335401%2C390935104301001%2C392058104364401%2C3927 24104341901%2C392125104323701%2C391829104385301%2C391502104273601%2 C391852104391301%2C393227104343401%2C392131104351701%2C3911481042941 01%2C391848104261401%2C393350104151701%2C393012104310701%2C39182110 4270601%2C391811104140301%2C391257104173601%2C390755104172501%2C391 851104204501%2C393251104073701%2C393225104073601%2C392434104142701%2 C391946104114501%2C391208104053301%2C390800104172601%2C3918341042056 01%2C391740104072401%2C392400104150601%2C392616103591001%2C39263510 3590001%2C391621104012001%2C391609104014001%2C390817104040301&format =station_list&group_key=NONE&list_of_search_criteria=multiple_site_no ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 Link to hydrographs: http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/gwlevels?multiple_site_no=393016104392601%2C 392133104310201%2C392856104393801%2C391924104374101%2C39235510438200 1%2C392203104342301%2C392130104341401%2C391915104375001%2C391126104 354701%2C391545104335401%2C390935104301001%2C392058104364401%2C3927 24104341901%2C392125104323701%2C391829104385301%2C391502104273601%2 C391852104391301%2C393227104343401%2C392131104351701%2C3911481042941 01%2C391848104261401%2C393350104151701%2C393012104310701%2C39182110 4270601%2C391811104140301%2C391257104173601%2C390755104172501%2C391 851104204501%2C393251104073701%2C393225104073601%2C392434104142701%2 C391946104114501%2C391208104053301%2C390800104172601%2C3918341042056 01%2C391740104072401%2C392400104150601%2C392616103591001%2C39263510 3590001%2C391621104012001%2C391609104014001%2C390817104040301&group_ key=NONE&sitefile_output_format=html_table&column_name=agency_cd&column_na me=site_no&column_name=station_nm&format=gif&date_format=YYYY-MM- DD&rdb_compression=file&list_of_search_criteria=multiple_site_no Publications Relevant to Elbert County Bauch, N.J., Musgrove, Mahler, B.J., and Paschke, S.S., 2014, The quality of our Nation’s waters —Water quality in the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado, 2003– 05: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1357, 100 http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/cir1357. ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 Everett, R.R., 2014, Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011–2013: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5172, 45 http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20145172. Ivahnenko, Tamara, and J.L., 2010, Estimated withdrawals and use of water in Colorado, 2005: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5002, 61 p. Musgrove, Beck, J.A., Paschke, S.S., Bauch, N.J., and Mashburn, S.L., 2014, Quality of groundwater in the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado, 2003–5: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5051, 107 http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20145051. Paschke, S.S. ed., 2011, Groundwater Availability of the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1770, 274 p. Donegan, Kevin 2014, Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers, 2014: Colorado Division of Water Resources, 242 p. Robson, S.G., and Romero, J.C., 1981a, Geologic Structure, Hydrology, and Water Quality of the Dawson Aquifer in the Denver Basin, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-643. Robson, S.G., and Romero, J.C., 1981b, Geologic Structure, Hydrology, and Water Quality of the Denver Aquifer in the Denver Basin, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-643. Robson, S.G., Romero, J.C., and Zawistowski, Stanley, 1981, Geologic Structure, Hydrology, and Water Quality of the Arapahoe Aquifer in the Denver Basin, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-647. Romero, J.C., 1976, Ground-water resources of the bedrock aquifers of the Denver Basin: Colorado Division of Water Resources Report, 109 p. ---PAGE BREAK--- 7