Rural Douglas County Groundwater Network Completed
More than 70 percent of the municipal water supply in the south Denver metropolitan area is provided by groundwater, and homeowners in rural areas depend solely on self-supplied groundwater for water supply. Increased groundwater withdrawal to meet the demand of the rapidly growing population is causing water levels to decline. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Rural Water Authority of Douglas County, began a study in 2011 to assess the groundwater resources of the Denver Basin aquifers within Douglas County, Colorado. The primary purpose of this study was to monitor changes in the groundwater levels of the bedrock aquifers of the Denver Basin within rural Douglas County. To better assess the water resources of the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers, a groundwater monitoring network was established in 2011. More than 500 manual and 213,900 automated water-level measurements collected from the 36 domestic-well network between April 2011 and June 2013 showed water-level declines in all aquifers.
History of water-level data collection in the Denver Basin:
- The first comprehensive measurements of water levels across the basin were made by the USGS from 1956 to 1963 and published by McConaghy and others (1964).
- A second comprehensive set of water-level data for the bedrock and alluvial aquifers through 1981 was published by Major and others (1983).
- Routine water-level measurements by the USGS continued through the 1980s, were incorporated into the Robson (1987) groundwater flow model, and are available through the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/gw).
- The USGS NWIS data were used for model calibration by recent USGS modeling efforts (Paschke, 2010). A water-level monitoring network of approximately 278 wells was established in the 1980s by the Colorado Divison of Water Resources, and data from that network are published in annual data reports.
- A compilation and bibliography of all available water-level data for bedrock and alluvial aquifers through 2004 was published as part of the South Platte Decision Support System.
Site identification number |
Well common name |
Latitude (NAD 83) (degrees, minutes, seconds) |
Longitude (NAD 83) (degrees, minutes, seconds) |
Elevation of LSD (ft above NAVD 88) |
Well depth (ft bls) |
Total measurements |
Number of static measurements |
Number of measurements with status “R” |
Number of measurements with status “S” |
Number of measurements with status “P” |
Mean depth to groundwater below LSD (ft) |
Mean groundwater- level elevation (ft above NAVD 88) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
391229104421901 | UDAW 1a | 39°12′22.40″ | −104°42′18.79″ | 6,934.52 | 320 | 43 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 92.16 | 6,842.36 |
392856104424101 | UDAW 2 | 39°28′51.1″ | −104°42′41.81″ | 6,284.27 | 310 | 24 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 141.93 | 6,142.34 |
392412104434201 | UDAW 3 | 39°24′00.07″ | −104°43′41.47″ | 6,414.87 | 283 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 156.03 | 6,258.84 |
392934104414901 | UDAW 4 | 39°29′28.68″ | −104°41′45.98″ | 6,267.98 | 300 | 41 | 35 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 120.66 | 6,147.32 |
392149104415501 | UDAW 5 | 39°21′42.84″ | −104°41′53.47″ | 6,501.66 | 350 | 40 | 22 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 140.96 | 6,360.70 |
392441104394901 | UDAW 6 | 39°24′35.49″ | −104°39′46.81″ | 6,590.31 | 400 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 216.39 | 6,373.92 |
391658104453101 | UDAW7b | 39°16′51.02″ | −104°45′25.37″ | 6,808.79 | 302 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 154.55 | 6,654.24 |
393252104434701 | UDAW 8c | 39°32′44.61″ | −104°43′40.56″ | 6,195.89 | 213 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 168.79 | 6,027.21 |
393226104394401 | UDAW 9 | 39°32′18.18″ | −104°40′09.34″ | 6,285.29 | 314 | 43 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 211.31 | 6,073.98 |
392916104423601 | UDAW10 | 39°29′10.65″ | −104°42′34.58″ | 6,288.97 | 320 | 42 | 37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 114.21 | 6,174.76 |
390756104453801 | LDAW 2 | 39°07′50.15″ | −104°45′35.11″ | 7,278.15 | 180 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68.19 | 7,209.96 |
390811104453801 | LDAW 3 | 39°08′05.45″ | −104°45′36.86″ | 7,308.07 | 300 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 124.78 | 7,183.29 |
392318104424601 | LDAW 4 | 39°23′13.64″ | −104°42′46.06″ | 6,501.52 | 723 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 565.68 | 5,935.84 |
392851104450101 | LDAW 5 | 39°28′44.38″ | −104°45′02.28″ | 6,021.79 | 530 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 207.48 | 5,814.31 |
391143104482501 | LDAW 6 | 39°11′37.67″ | −104°48′22.89″ | 7,085.07 | 205 | 37 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 41.35 | 7,043.72 |
391654104464501 | LDAW 7 | 39°16′48.55″ | −104°46′46.54″ | 6,676.78 | 345 | 50 | 45 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 87.61 | 6,589.17 |
392949104523401 | LDAW 8 | 39°29′41.31″ | −104°52′33.56″ | 6,235.80 | 468 | 23 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 386.4 | 5,849.40 |
393239104452901 | LDAW 9 | 39°32′34.88″ | −104°45′33.98″ | 5,908.71 | 285 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 165.49 | 5,743.22 |
393021104533101 | LDAW 10 | 39°30′14.61″ | −104°53′30.83″ | 6,324.88 | 620 | 24 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 480.37 | 5,844.51 |
391257104530201 | LDAW 11 | 39°12′49.86″ | −104°53′00.55″ | 6,799.61 | 240 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 89.66 | 6,709.95 |
393259104491001 | GRNDAW 4 | 39°32′25″ | −104°48′49″ | 5,816.50 | 280 | 47 | 42 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 54.11 | 5,762.39 |
391656104473001 | DENV 1 | 39°16′43.87″ | −104°47′28.54″ | 6,783.59 | 600 | 46 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 151.3 | 6,632.29 |
391929104574101 | DENV 2 | 39°19′22.18″ | −104°57′40.27″ | 6,268.94 | 300 | 45 | 29 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 105.08 | 6,163.86 |
391245104525501 | DENV 3 | 39°12′38.72″ | −104°52′56.68″ | 6,822.46 | 665 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 443.17 | 6,379.29 |
392115104553501 | DENV 4 | 39°21′09.46″ | −104°55′32.44″ | 6,376.53 | 480 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 230.04 | 6,146.49 |
392235105003001 | DENV 5 | 39°22′29.42″ | −105°00′30.46″ | 6,317.29 | 380 | 46 | 19 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 192.87 | 6,124.42 |
393040105003201 | DENV 6 | 39°30′32.91″ | −105°00′32.78″ | 5,716.55 | 320 | 40 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 225.12 | 5,491.43 |
391212104473801 | DENV 7 | 39°12′02.73″ | −104°47′39.07″ | 7,003.66 | 900 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 408.37 | 6,595.29 |
390755104454001 | DENV 8 | 39°07′50.14″ | −104°45′40.26″ | 7,265.13 | 1,300 | 23 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 261.84 | 7,003.29 |
391936104570101 | DENV 10 | 39°19′31.13″ | −104°57′00.44″ | 6,410.74 | 404 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 234.42 | 6,176.32 |
393330104450701 | DENV 11 | 39°33′22.42″ | −104°45′07.66″ | 6,058.29 | 610 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 353.11 | 5,705.18 |
393252104492101 | GRNDEV 3 | 39°32′51.83″ | −104°49′23.15″ | 5,864.18 | 463 | 48 | 40 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 136.28 | 5,727.90 |
392853105015001 | ARAP 1 | 39°28′46.00″ | −105°01′48.83″ | 5,789.08 | 730 | 23 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 547.11 | 5,241.97 |
393120105003101 | ARAP 2 | 39°31′12.83″ | −105°00′30.08″ | 5,750.03 | 735 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 365.42 | 5,384.61 |
392522105015001 | LARA 1 | 39°25′15.92″ | −105°01′49.28″ | 6,169.43 | 601 | 27 | 8 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 120.92 | 6,048.51 |
392522105015401 | LARA 2 | 39°25′15.20″ | −105°01′53.18″ | 6,155.85 | 480 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 100.52 | 6,055.33 |
[Well data can be downloaded using the site identification numbers in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) database https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN. See figure 2 for well locations. Bold indicates site instrumented with a pressure transducer. NAD 83, North American Datum of 1983; LSD, land-surface datum; ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; bls, below land surface; “R,” recently pumped; “S,” nearby pumping; “P,” pumping; UDAW, upper Dawson aquifer well;°, degrees; ′, minutes; ″, seconds; LDAW, lower Dawson aquifer well; GRNDAW, Grandview Estates, lower Dawson aquifer well; DENV, Denver aquifer well; GRNDEV, Grandview Estates, Denver aquifer well; ARAP, Arapahoe aquifer well; LARA, Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer well]
*Well dropped from routine monitoring in April 2019.
*Well dropped from routine monitoring in February 2018.
*Well dropped from routine monitoring in February 2017.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Elbert County Groundwater Network
South Platte Decision Support System (SPDSS) Well Installation and Aquifer Testing in Shallow Alluvial and Bedrock Aquifers, Adams County, Colorado
Groundwater Data for Colorado
The USGS annually monitors groundwater levels in thousands of wells in the United States. Groundwater level data are collected and stored as either discrete field-water-level measurements or as continuous time-series data from automated recorders.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011–19
Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011-2013
Design and Installation of a Groundwater Monitoring-Well Network in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado
Depth to water, saturated thickness, and other geospatial datasets used in the design and installation of a groundwater monitoring-well network in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
More than 70 percent of the municipal water supply in the south Denver metropolitan area is provided by groundwater, and homeowners in rural areas depend solely on self-supplied groundwater for water supply. Increased groundwater withdrawal to meet the demand of the rapidly growing population is causing water levels to decline. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Rural Water Authority of Douglas County, began a study in 2011 to assess the groundwater resources of the Denver Basin aquifers within Douglas County, Colorado. The primary purpose of this study was to monitor changes in the groundwater levels of the bedrock aquifers of the Denver Basin within rural Douglas County. To better assess the water resources of the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers, a groundwater monitoring network was established in 2011. More than 500 manual and 213,900 automated water-level measurements collected from the 36 domestic-well network between April 2011 and June 2013 showed water-level declines in all aquifers.
History of water-level data collection in the Denver Basin:
- The first comprehensive measurements of water levels across the basin were made by the USGS from 1956 to 1963 and published by McConaghy and others (1964).
- A second comprehensive set of water-level data for the bedrock and alluvial aquifers through 1981 was published by Major and others (1983).
- Routine water-level measurements by the USGS continued through the 1980s, were incorporated into the Robson (1987) groundwater flow model, and are available through the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/gw).
- The USGS NWIS data were used for model calibration by recent USGS modeling efforts (Paschke, 2010). A water-level monitoring network of approximately 278 wells was established in the 1980s by the Colorado Divison of Water Resources, and data from that network are published in annual data reports.
- A compilation and bibliography of all available water-level data for bedrock and alluvial aquifers through 2004 was published as part of the South Platte Decision Support System.
Well identification and location information and a summary of discrete groundwater-level measurements, April 2011 through June 2019, Douglas County, Colorado. Site
identification
numberWell
common
nameLatitude (NAD 83)
(degrees, minutes,
seconds)Longitude (NAD 83)
(degrees, minutes,
seconds)Elevation of LSD
(ft above NAVD 88)Well depth
(ft bls)Total
measurementsNumber
of static
measurementsNumber of
measurements
with status “R”Number of
measurements
with status “S”Number of
measurements
with status “P”Mean depth to
groundwater
below LSD
(ft)Mean groundwater-
level elevation
(ft above NAVD 88)391229104421901 UDAW 1a 39°12′22.40″ −104°42′18.79″ 6,934.52 320 43 35 7 0 1 92.16 6,842.36 392856104424101 UDAW 2 39°28′51.1″ −104°42′41.81″ 6,284.27 310 24 18 5 1 0 141.93 6,142.34 392412104434201 UDAW 3 39°24′00.07″ −104°43′41.47″ 6,414.87 283 40 34 6 0 0 156.03 6,258.84 392934104414901 UDAW 4 39°29′28.68″ −104°41′45.98″ 6,267.98 300 41 35 4 2 0 120.66 6,147.32 392149104415501 UDAW 5 39°21′42.84″ −104°41′53.47″ 6,501.66 350 40 22 17 1 0 140.96 6,360.70 392441104394901 UDAW 6 39°24′35.49″ −104°39′46.81″ 6,590.31 400 24 24 0 0 0 216.39 6,373.92 391658104453101 UDAW7b 39°16′51.02″ −104°45′25.37″ 6,808.79 302 22 19 3 0 0 154.55 6,654.24 393252104434701 UDAW 8c 39°32′44.61″ −104°43′40.56″ 6,195.89 213 22 19 3 0 0 168.79 6,027.21 393226104394401 UDAW 9 39°32′18.18″ −104°40′09.34″ 6,285.29 314 43 35 8 0 0 211.31 6,073.98 392916104423601 UDAW10 39°29′10.65″ −104°42′34.58″ 6,288.97 320 42 37 5 0 0 114.21 6,174.76 390756104453801 LDAW 2 39°07′50.15″ −104°45′35.11″ 7,278.15 180 39 39 0 0 0 68.19 7,209.96 390811104453801 LDAW 3 39°08′05.45″ −104°45′36.86″ 7,308.07 300 24 18 6 0 0 124.78 7,183.29 392318104424601 LDAW 4 39°23′13.64″ −104°42′46.06″ 6,501.52 723 24 12 12 0 0 565.68 5,935.84 392851104450101 LDAW 5 39°28′44.38″ −104°45′02.28″ 6,021.79 530 24 14 10 0 0 207.48 5,814.31 391143104482501 LDAW 6 39°11′37.67″ −104°48′22.89″ 7,085.07 205 37 30 7 0 0 41.35 7,043.72 391654104464501 LDAW 7 39°16′48.55″ −104°46′46.54″ 6,676.78 345 50 45 3 2 0 87.61 6,589.17 392949104523401 LDAW 8 39°29′41.31″ −104°52′33.56″ 6,235.80 468 23 19 4 0 0 386.4 5,849.40 393239104452901 LDAW 9 39°32′34.88″ −104°45′33.98″ 5,908.71 285 24 21 3 0 0 165.49 5,743.22 393021104533101 LDAW 10 39°30′14.61″ −104°53′30.83″ 6,324.88 620 24 22 1 1 0 480.37 5,844.51 391257104530201 LDAW 11 39°12′49.86″ −104°53′00.55″ 6,799.61 240 17 15 2 0 0 89.66 6,709.95 393259104491001 GRNDAW 4 39°32′25″ −104°48′49″ 5,816.50 280 47 42 1 4 0 54.11 5,762.39 391656104473001 DENV 1 39°16′43.87″ −104°47′28.54″ 6,783.59 600 46 42 4 0 0 151.3 6,632.29 391929104574101 DENV 2 39°19′22.18″ −104°57′40.27″ 6,268.94 300 45 29 13 3 0 105.08 6,163.86 391245104525501 DENV 3 39°12′38.72″ −104°52′56.68″ 6,822.46 665 22 22 0 0 0 443.17 6,379.29 392115104553501 DENV 4 39°21′09.46″ −104°55′32.44″ 6,376.53 480 25 16 9 0 0 230.04 6,146.49 392235105003001 DENV 5 39°22′29.42″ −105°00′30.46″ 6,317.29 380 46 19 27 0 0 192.87 6,124.42 393040105003201 DENV 6 39°30′32.91″ −105°00′32.78″ 5,716.55 320 40 31 9 0 0 225.12 5,491.43 391212104473801 DENV 7 39°12′02.73″ −104°47′39.07″ 7,003.66 900 24 14 10 0 0 408.37 6,595.29 390755104454001 DENV 8 39°07′50.14″ −104°45′40.26″ 7,265.13 1,300 23 22 1 0 0 261.84 7,003.29 391936104570101 DENV 10 39°19′31.13″ −104°57′00.44″ 6,410.74 404 24 23 1 0 0 234.42 6,176.32 393330104450701 DENV 11 39°33′22.42″ −104°45′07.66″ 6,058.29 610 24 22 2 0 0 353.11 5,705.18 393252104492101 GRNDEV 3 39°32′51.83″ −104°49′23.15″ 5,864.18 463 48 40 8 0 0 136.28 5,727.90 392853105015001 ARAP 1 39°28′46.00″ −105°01′48.83″ 5,789.08 730 23 22 1 0 0 547.11 5,241.97 393120105003101 ARAP 2 39°31′12.83″ −105°00′30.08″ 5,750.03 735 23 18 5 0 0 365.42 5,384.61 392522105015001 LARA 1 39°25′15.92″ −105°01′49.28″ 6,169.43 601 27 8 19 0 0 120.92 6,048.51 392522105015401 LARA 2 39°25′15.20″ −105°01′53.18″ 6,155.85 480 24 10 14 0 0 100.52 6,055.33 [Well data can be downloaded using the site identification numbers in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) database https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN. See figure 2 for well locations. Bold indicates site instrumented with a pressure transducer. NAD 83, North American Datum of 1983; LSD, land-surface datum; ft, foot; NAVD 88, North American Vertical Datum of 1988; bls, below land surface; “R,” recently pumped; “S,” nearby pumping; “P,” pumping; UDAW, upper Dawson aquifer well;°, degrees; ′, minutes; ″, seconds; LDAW, lower Dawson aquifer well; GRNDAW, Grandview Estates, lower Dawson aquifer well; DENV, Denver aquifer well; GRNDEV, Grandview Estates, Denver aquifer well; ARAP, Arapahoe aquifer well; LARA, Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer well]
*Well dropped from routine monitoring in April 2019.
*Well dropped from routine monitoring in February 2018.
*Well dropped from routine monitoring in February 2017. - Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Elbert County Groundwater Network
Elbert County, Colorado relies heavily on nonrenewable groundwater from the Denver Basin aquifers for water supply. Population growth in the county has placed increasing demands on groundwater resources, and future groundwater withdrawals are expected to increase as the population continues to grow. A detailed program to monitor groundwater levels in the Denver Basin aquifers throughout the county...South Platte Decision Support System (SPDSS) Well Installation and Aquifer Testing in Shallow Alluvial and Bedrock Aquifers, Adams County, Colorado
The South Platte Decision Support System (SPDSS) is a data base system being developed by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to provide water users, managers, and State of Colorado agencies access to important information related to water management issues affecting the South Platte River system. - Data
Groundwater Data for Colorado
The USGS annually monitors groundwater levels in thousands of wells in the United States. Groundwater level data are collected and stored as either discrete field-water-level measurements or as continuous time-series data from automated recorders.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011–19
Municipal and domestic water users in Douglas County, Colorado, rely on groundwater from the bedrock aquifers in the Denver Basin aquifer system as part of their water supply. The four principal Denver Basin bedrock aquifers are, from shallowest to deepest, the Dawson aquifer (divided administratively into “upper” and “lower” Dawson aquifers in Douglas County), the Denver aquifer, the Arapahoe aquAuthorsHelen F. Malenda, Colin A. PennGroundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011-2013
More than 70 percent of the municipal water supply in the south Denver metropolitan area is provided by groundwater, and homeowners in rural areas depend solely on self-supplied groundwater for water supply. Increased groundwater withdrawal to meet the demand of the rapidly growing population is causing water levels to decline. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Rural Water AuthorAuthorsRhett R. EverettDesign and Installation of a Groundwater Monitoring-Well Network in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado
The High Plains aquifer is an important water source for irrigated agriculture and domestic supplies in northeastern Colorado. To address the needs of Colorado's Groundwater Protection Program, the U.S. Geological Survey designed and installed a groundwater monitoring-well network in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Agriculture in 2008 to characterize water quality in the High Plains aqAuthorsL. R. Arnold, J.L. Flynn, S.S. PaschkeDepth to water, saturated thickness, and other geospatial datasets used in the design and installation of a groundwater monitoring-well network in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado
These datasets were compiled in support of U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 456, Design and Installation of a Groundwater Monitoring-Well Network in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado. These datasets were developed as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The purpose of the project was to design a 30-well network and install 2AuthorsJennifer L. Flynn, L. Rick Arnold, Suzanne S. Paschke - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.