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Water Level Measurements in the Northern <br />High Plains Designated Ground Water Basin <br />2012 <br /> <br /> <br />This report contains the basic ground water level data collected from wells in the Northern High <br />Plains Designated Ground Water Basin made during the winter of 2011-2012. Data were <br />collected in cooperation with the W-Y, Frenchman, Central Yuma, Sand Hills, Marks Butte, <br />Arikaree, Plains and East Cheyenne Ground Water Management Districts, and local well owners. <br /> This data collection effort is part of a statewide ground water level monitoring program funded <br />by Senate Bill 200 (1987 legislative session). That legislation authorized the Office of the State <br />Engineer to establish and maintain a water-level monitoring network throughout the state to obtain <br />information on ground water conditions, to evaluate ground water trends and to manage the <br />ground water resources of the state. <br /> <br />During the winter of 2011-2012, a total of 683 wells were measured. The map on the following <br />page shows the location of these wells. Wells which have gone dry, are inaccessible, have been plugged, or are otherwise unusable, are removed from the network and replaced where feasible. The wells in this report are listed first by the management district in which they lie or county, if outside of a management district, then by township, range and section, beginning in the north and proceeding south. Tabular data are presented for each well for the previous ten years. <br />Graphical data are presented for the entire period of record. Analyses of changes in the water <br />level in the aquifer are based on single point comparisons and may be complicated by unknown <br />pumping schedules or other site-specific hydrologic factors. <br /> <br />Table 1 that follows summarizes some of the statistics gleaned from the data and is organized by <br />management district or county. This information includes the range of water levels recorded and <br />the average change in water levels of all wells in the district on a one, five, and ten year interval. <br />To analyze these water level trends, we omitted the highest and lowest values reported from the <br />statistical calculation. This was done under the assumption that these end-member readings are <br />often anomalous due to site-specific circumstances such as nearby pumping or recharge. If these <br />end-member values are not anomalous then the water level change would still be reflected in the <br />rest of the data. It should be remembered that this value is an average change in water level over <br />all of the wells within the district, which may not be truly representative of the district as a whole. <br />The long-term 10-year water level comparisons show a declining trend that ranges from <br />approximately -1 to -13 feet, with the exception of Kiowa County where water levels increased by <br />one foot. <br /> <br />Copies of this report can be purchased from the Office of the State Engineer, Records Section, <br />1313 Sherman St., Room 821, Denver, CO 80203, (303) 866-3581. Additionally, digital versions <br />of this report, in Adobe PDF format, may be viewed or downloaded from the Division’s website, <br />http://water.state.co.us/groundwater/Pages/HydroGeo.aspx. The data may be accessed on the internet at the Colorado Decision Support System website http://cdss.state.co.us and can be exported to in number of different formats.