Once the hydrogeology of the project area has been sufficiently defined and the stratigraphic model has been used to develop the project groundwater flow model, the flow model can be used to answer a multiplicity of questions.  The flow model can also be used to provide preliminary information for developing the groundwater resource management plan.  The weakness in the use of available data is the water level information.  Very little water level data are available.  The available data are taken from well logs that record water level estimates at the time of well construction.  Because of the variability in the times of measurement, this information is weak but is the only data available; therefore, it is used to create “historical” potentiometric maps such as in the figure below.  These maps are probably useful for ascertaining general groundwater flow directions but inadequate for use in establishing groundwater levels.

Example of a Groundwater Level Map Based on Historical Water Levels

Because of the nature of the available data it is impossible to assess the effect of any implemented groundwater management practices.  Additional data are required to increase the reliability of the model to make these assessments. 

KOT Environmental Consulting Inc. (KOT-ECI)has a wealth of experience in designing and analyzing the data collected from long-term water level monitoring systems.  Our systems provide a means to establish measurable criteria for estimating safe aquifer yields and to measure and evaluate the effects of groundwater consumption.  We help our clients meet these goals and then help them achieve sustainable groundwater management.

Our long-term monitoring systems are used to measure water levels in observation wells, streams and lakes that are the principal sources of information to evaluate stress and the effects of climatic conditions on groundwater systems.  Our water level monitoring systems are designed to measure the interaction of groundwater with surface water.  The monitoring systems we design include the following important aspects and tasks.

• Determination of monitoring boundaries
• Location of monitoring points
• Meteorological data
• Frequency of measurement
• Quality assurance
• Data reporting