22 Sep Living Lakes Groundwater Monitoring Shows Water Levels are Lower in Some Aquifers
Our friends at Living Lakes Canada recently completed their summer site visits as part of their Groundwater Monitoring Program. They visited close to 22 Volunteer Observation Wells in the Columbia Basin and monitored the static water levels in different aquifers throughout.
“This summer we noticed that some aquifers we are monitoring had lower water levels compared to last summer.”
It’s unclear whether these changes in water levels are due to drought conditions or natural variations and longer data sets and additional analyses will need to be done. However, the Provincial Government has indicated the importance of conserving groundwater and surface water as low levels can pose risk to neighbouring streams and their ecosystems.
“Water-level measurements from observation wells are the principal source of information about the recharge, storage, and discharge of water in aquifers. An aquifer is a geological formation or underground layer of rock, gravel, sand or silt that yield groundwater to wells. Water levels in aquifers typically change throughout the year in response to short-term and long-term changes in climate, ground-water withdrawal, and land use.”