Groundwater Data Management System to Support SGMA - Stanislaus County | Tetra Tech R&D
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Groundwater Data Management System to Support SGMA

Stanislaus County

As part of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the State of California is requiring counties to develop groundwater database management systems (DMS). Stanislaus County selected Tetra Tech to develop the first step in the process, a groundwater information DMS, which allows the County to benchmark water level data and use the DMS to support the 2014 County Groundwater Ordinance. The DMS included separate tables for water level, well construction, well location, pumping volumes, water quality, lithology, and historic well completion forms. Tetra Tech captured existing data and conducted field monitoring to obtain data for previously unreported industrial and irrigation groundwater production wells. Data were captured from the California DWR CASGEM database, and the Stanislaus County DMS was modeled to mimic the CASGEM structure, allowing the end user easy transfer from CASGEM to the Stanislaus County DMS. The data were compiled into a personal geodatabase.

In addition to the DMS, Tetra Tech conducted an outreach program to incorporate new agricultural wells into the DMS. Adding the wells allowed the County to meet DWR CASGEM well density requirements for a newly developed Groundwater Monitoring Plan: the Eastern San Joaquin Sub basin in Stanislaus County (the Northern Triangle). The Northern Triangle Monitoring Plan was prepared for and accepted by the CA DWR. Acceptance of the Monitoring Plan was required by the State of California for Stanislaus County to be eligible for Proposition 1 Sustainable Groundwater Program (SGWP). Tetra Tech prepared the Northern Triangle Monitoring Plan with the County under a very tight deadline: from County notification to completion, DWR CASGEM acceptance, and notification of Proposition 1 SWGP Notice of Eligibility was a duration of eight weeks. Stanislaus County was awarded a SGWP grant of $250,000 to support the new County groundwater ordinance.


Contact

Joe Orozco

joe.orozco@tetratech.com

(925) 280-7424