Kansas Geological Survey, Public Information Circular (PIC) 12
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Using Water-level Data

Data gathered from well measurements are used for a variety of purposes, both public and private. Organizations and governmental agencies use the data, especially in mapped form, to develop an understanding of trends in regional water levels. That understanding is then used in making decisions about water and in taking regulatory actions. Groundwater management districts use the results to better understand water levels in their area. For example, the Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 3 used the data to develop a series of maps that shows changes in saturated thickness in the High Plains aquifer in southwestern Kansas, and to project those drawdowns into the future (Yoder et al., 1995).

The Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture uses the data in making decisions about applications for new water rights and in declaring and regulating intensive groundwater use control areas (or IGUCA's), where new ground-water pumping is extremely limited. Private institutions use the measurements to appraise the value of land and in making lending decisions. Private landowners use the data to monitor water-levels in their own wells and in those nearby. All of these uses depend on high-quality data about water levels. The key to the quality of those data lies in the distribution, accuracy, and timeliness of water-level measurements, which, in turn, depend directly on the help and cooperation of local landowners.

Summary

The annual water-level measurement program is designed to sample the High Plains aquifer and other aquifers in western and central Kansas, allowing trends to be determined and evaluated for incorporation into management decisions. Many of the tools used to collect the annual measurements have been developed specifically for the Kansas network. The program's principal objective is to report accurate water-level measurements for each well. The combined data must be consistent so regional water-level trends are correctly represented. Continued development of techniques of measuring water levels in Kansas will eventually lead to a much more accurate and useful data base and encourage responsible use in the future.

References

Woods, J. J., Schloss, J. A., and Macfarlane, P. A., 1998, January 1998 Kansas water levels and data related to water-level changes: Kansas Geological Survey, Technical Series 12, 89 p.

Yoder, S. Buddemeier, R. W., Jayatilake, H., Frost, S., and Coe, D., 1995, Saturated thickness at section centers in the High Plains aquifer: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 95-18 (prepared in cooperation with the Southwest Kansas Groundwater Managment District), 8 sheets.

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Kansas Geological Survey, Public Outreach
Web version December 1998
http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/pic12/pic12_5.htm