The U.S. Geological Survey has launched the Upper Klamath Basin Collaborative Groundwater Monitoring website to provide information on groundwater conditions in the upper Klamath Basin. The website provides a single source for water users, resource managers and the general public to view up-to-date groundwater-level monitoring data collected by multiple agencies in Oregon and California. "The Klamath Basin is facing unprecedented challenges from extreme drought,” said Marshall Gannett, hydrologist with the USGS Orgon Water Science Center."The web-based tool is a powerful and direct way to deliver timely, relevant hydrologic information to the public and resource managers."
The ongoing drought and increased groundwater withdrawals have affected groundwater levels in the upper Klamath Basin. The website will allow water users and resource managers to better visualise and understand these changes when making groundwater management decisions. The map-based website allows users to view maps of groundwater-level changes between any two time periods, as well as locate and create graphs of water-level changes over time for monitored wells in the basin.
The data behind the website include over 23,000 individual water-level measurements from more than 250 wells. Data were collected by the USGS, the Oregon Water Resources Department, the California Department of Water Resources and the Tulelake Irrigation District.
Source: US Geological Survey
