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Upper Black Squirrel Creek Water Level Monitoring Network Active

By Colorado Water Science Center May 13, 2022

The Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin in eastern El Paso County, Colorado, relies heavily on groundwater from the Denver Basin aquifer system and an alluvial aquifer completed in Quaternary-age deposits for water supply.  Population growth in the basin 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 and the shallow alluvial aquifer has been developed with wells throughout the basin instrumented and measured since 2021.

Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin monitoring network well with GNSS survey being conducted
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
Well from Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin monitoring network with Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) survey being conducted as well was added to network.

This study established, by the USGS, in cooperation with the Upper Black Squirrel Ground Water Management District, a well network in 2021 for long-term monitoring of groundwater levels in the Denver Basin aquifers and the alluvial aquifer throughout the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin in eastern El Paso County, Colorado and to collect groundwater-level data for a minimum of 3 years.  Approximately 30 existing wells throughout the county are visited for bi-monthly groundwater-level measurements through the end of 2024. In addition, eight sites, of which at least one site  is screened in each aquifer, is equipped with vented pressure transducers and data loggers set to record groundwater levels on a frequency of once per hour. This study was created to better understand the groundwater levels in each aquifer and assist local decision makers with making informed policy decisions about limited groundwater resources.

The goals of this study are to:

  • Create a baseline dataset,
  • Understand changes in groundwater levels in each aquifer,
  • Assess and evaluate trends, and
  • Create maps of potentiometric surface for each aquifer.

 

Links to Groundwater-level Data

SC01206515DAC TDW17 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206306DDB TDW21 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206231CDB QAL11 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306434CDD TKD7 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01506324DBA2 KLF5 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01506324DAB QAL14 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01406428AAC KA6 - USGS Water Data for the Nation 
SC01106425ABC TDW22 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01106435BBD TKD28 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206408ABC TDW33 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206406ADB TDW19 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206536BAD TDW18 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206413CDA TDW20 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206413AAC TKD30 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206314DDC TKD10 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306207BCB4 TKD1 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306311CDA KA25 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306316DDD QAL15 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306130AAD KA26 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306426BCC KA23 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306230ACC4 KA2 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01406308CCB KA8 - USGS Water Data for the Nation 
SC01406229BBB3 KLF4 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01506310BCA KLF32 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01506336ADC KP34 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206405BBB TKD31 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306418CBC TKD12 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01206227CBC TKD24 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01506324CCB QAL16 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01506207ADB - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01406204BAA - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306216CBB - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306231CBB - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306316BAA - USGS Water Data for the Nation

 

Former data collection sites

SC01406216CDB2 KA3 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01406216CDB QAL13 - USGS Water Data for the Nation
SC01306418CBB TKD9 - USGS Water Data for the Nation 
SC01206511CCC TKD29 - USGS Water Data for the Nation 
SC01206233CBD TKD27 - USGS Water Data for the Nation

 

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USGS science for a changing world logo

Upper Black Squirrel Creek Long-term Groundwater Quality Study

The alluvial aquifer of the upper Black Squirrel Creek Basin, about 15 miles east of Colorado Springs, supplies most of the water for irrigation and domestic use in the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin (UBSCDGWB) and, since 1964, supplies water for export to the Colorado Springs area. Substantial residential growth in the UBSCDGWB, which utilizes both domestic septic...
By
Colorado Water Science Center
link

Upper Black Squirrel Creek Long-term Groundwater Quality Study

The alluvial aquifer of the upper Black Squirrel Creek Basin, about 15 miles east of Colorado Springs, supplies most of the water for irrigation and domestic use in the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin (UBSCDGWB) and, since 1964, supplies water for export to the Colorado Springs area. Substantial residential growth in the UBSCDGWB, which utilizes both domestic septic...
Learn More
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Map showing the location of the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado

Denver Basin aquifer system

The Denver Basin aquifer system is composed of Late Cretaceous to Tertiary-age sandstone bedrock aquifers and intervening claystone confining units that occur in the uppermost layers of the structural Denver Basin above the Cretaceous Pierre Shale confining layer.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
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Denver Basin aquifer system

The Denver Basin aquifer system is composed of Late Cretaceous to Tertiary-age sandstone bedrock aquifers and intervening claystone confining units that occur in the uppermost layers of the structural Denver Basin above the Cretaceous Pierre Shale confining layer.
Learn More
link
USGS

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...
By
Colorado Water Science Center
link

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...
Learn More

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.

By
Colorado Water Science Center
Map of Aquifer Boundaries in Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin monitoring network
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Well in the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin monitoring network
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Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin monitoring network well with GNSS survey being conducted
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Well with electric tape indicator in the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Designated Ground Water Basin monitoring network
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Hydrogeology and simulation of flow between the alluvial and bedrock aquifers in the upper Black Squirrel Creek basin, El Paso County, Colorado

Anticipated increases in pumping from the bedrock aquifers in El Paso County potentially could affect the direction and rate of flow between the alluvial and bedrock aquifers and lower water levels in the overlying alluvial aquifer. The alluvial aquifer underlies about 90 square miles in the upper Black Squirrel Creek Basin of eastern El Paso County. The alluvial aquifer consists of unconsolidated
Authors
Kenneth R. Watts

Geohydrology, water quality, and preliminary simulations of ground-water flow of the alluvial aquifer in the upper Black Squirrel Creek basin, El Paso County, Colorado

The upper Black Squirrel Creek basin in eastern El Paso County, Colorado, is underlain by an alluvial aquifer and four bedrock aquifers. The climate of the area is semiarid, and streamflow is irregular. The alluvial aquifer has supplied water to wells since the late 1800's when ranchers first pumped water from shallow wells to grow grass hay for livestock. Ground-water pumpage from the alluvial aq
Authors
David R. Buckles, Kenneth R. Watts

Artificial-recharge tests in Upper Black Squirrel Creek basin, Jimmy Camp Valley, and Fountain Valley, El Paso County, Colorado

Artificial-recharge tests were conducted in the alluvium in upper Black Squirrel Creek basin, the alluvium in Jimmy Camp Valley, and in the alluvium overlying the Widefield aquifer which is located in an ancestral channel in Fountain Valley, Colo. Nine artificial-recharge pits with areas of approximately 9,200 square feet each were excavated in the unsaturated zones above the three aquifers. Each
Authors
P.J. Emmons

Upper Black Squirrel Creek Ground Water Management District