SPNRD issues 2015 fall ground water level report

The South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD) released this week the 2015 fall ground water level report, which gives a generalized look at the ground water levels and an insight into the areas where irrigation may have caused major areas of stress to the aquifer.

While the fall report is important, there are several variables that affect the report such as recovery of the aquifer from the current seasons use, crop rotations and precipitation timing and amounts during spring and summer.

For these reasons the fall reports are not good interpretations of aquifer declines or inclines, according to a SPNRD press release.

In years of extreme drought, such as 2012, the fall report can show declines in all areas, while in years like this year when rainfall was abundant in the spring the report may show unusually high inclines due to wet conditions.

The 2015 report shows an average incline of 1.98 feet across the district which is representative of higher rainfall amounts and less high water use crops being planted. Even though the report shows an overall incline, the water management decisions made by the SPNRD Board are based from the Spring Ground Water Level Report and other tools such as the water usage teports and the western water use management model. The fall report is for informational purposes only.

The SPNRD also plans to continue to expand its water monitoring well network and has budgeted for up to another two wells to be drilled in 2016. The map shows where observation wells have already been drilled. The complete 2015 fall ground water level report can be found on the SPNRD website http://www.spnrd.org/Html/resources_reports.html.