TUCSON, Ariz. – New interactive maps that can address different questions about groundwater availability in Arizona were released today by the U.S. Geological Survey. Called the Arizona Groundwater Explorer, or AGEx, the maps provide water managers, decision-makers, and the public, information on historical, current, and change in groundwater levels in Arizona to help sustainably manage this shared resource.

“Groundwater is a critical water resource in Arizona, and mostly invisible,” said Fred Tillman, USGS research hydrologist and lead author of the study. “The AGEx maps allow people to visually explore groundwater levels in their areas of interest in the state, rather than deciphering information from databases.”

Depth-to-groundwater data for the maps were compiled from publicly available sources at the Arizona Department of Water Resources and USGS. The combined dataset contained 1,820,122 depth-to-groundwater measurements from 1891 through 2022 from 41,918 wells in Arizona. Data views were created from this dataset for 20 topics organized by three themes on the AGEx site.

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Groundwater Sites 

Groundwater-related questions such as “how deep is it to groundwater in my area”, “how deep was it to groundwater long ago”, and “how much water is in wells in my area”, among others, are addressed by data views in the Groundwater Sites theme.

Changes in Groundwater Levels

The Changes in Groundwater Levels theme presents data views for groundwater questions such as “where have groundwater levels fallen, and by how much” and “where have groundwater levels risen, and by how much” for both historical and recent time periods.

Trends in Groundwater Levels

Finally, maps in the Trends in Groundwater Levels theme addresses questions such as “how are groundwater levels trending in my area of interest” for ten overlapping decades. Well locations for each data view are displayed on interactive maps, with well information and hydrographs of data presented by hovering over or clicking on site locations on the maps.    

With ongoing drought in the region and declining surface water supplies in Arizona, groundwater may play an even larger role in satisfying water needs in the state. The AGEx site allows exploration of current, historical, and changes in groundwater levels in Arizona to help improve understanding of this important water resource.

Visit the Arizona Groundwater Explorer.