Groundwater level monitoring assistance needed
By David M. Bailey, General Manager
The Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District needs your help. The District is needing assistance from landowners who may wish to volunteer to participate in a water level monitoring program to establish water level data for the aquifers that serve this District. The Mid-East Texas GCD is composed of the counties of Freestone, Leon and Madison. The District was established in 2001 by the Texas Legislature and is committed to managing and protecting groundwater in a way that will maintain for the future, adequate and safe supplies of groundwater for the citizens of the District. It works with other entities to promote conservation of supplies, protect groundwater quality, and implement strategies to manage the pumping of groundwater.
Every five (5) years the District, along with other member districts of Groundwater Management Area 12 (GMA 12), must adopt Desired Future Conditions (DFC). The DFC is simply a metric to determine what level of pumping from the aquifers will sustain a desired effect. The member Districts for GMA 12 use an average drawdown method as the metric to determine the balance between the conservation of the resource and the development of the resource. This planning cycle is calibrated over a time period of 50 years but is reviewed every 5 years to reflect observed changes that may occur. This is where we need your help.
Currently, there are approximately 50 water wells within the District that are monitored by either the District or the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). In order to better determine the effects of pumping in our District and to adequately monitor aquifer levels over time, more water wells are needed to accomplish this task. The following criteria is needed for a functional monitoring well:
–Water well depth and screen interval must me known.
–An open well (one with no pump installed) would be ideal but not necessary as long as an adequate sized port is available for a measuring device.
–Access to the well once a year, typically in the Fall or early Winter, for recording a water level.
–A well located away from a large pumping center such as a large commercial water well or a Public Water Supply Well is best.
Once a water well is registered and deemed as a good source for water level measurements, District staff will take an initial water level recording and then visit the site each year to measure and record water levels to establish a history of water level changes over time.
As mentioned, our goal is to ensure that the District is meeting the needs of the public and State Law by properly monitoring aquifer levels to achieve our DFC’s and the integrity of our groundwater supply. If you would like to participate in this program, please contact the District Office at (936) 348-3212 or you can email the District with any questions or concerns at info@mideasttexasgcd.com. Thank you.
