Laserfiche WebLink
Martin and Wood Water Consultants, Inc. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Memorandum <br /> <br />To: Megan Gutwein <br /> <br />From: Marshall Haworth and Craig Lis, P.E. <br /> <br />Date: November 25, 2019 <br /> <br />Subject: Schweizer Farm Depth to Groundwater Table <br /> <br /> <br />As noted in our November 21, 2019 memorandum regarding “Depth to Groundwater Table <br />on Participating Farms”, additional review of groundwater level data on the Schweizer farm <br />was recommended. <br /> <br />Research indicates that a groundwater depth less than 6 feet below ground surface (bgs) was <br />recorded in a shallow well on the Schweizer Farm in Section 5, Township 23 South, Range 57 <br />West, 6th P.M. The depth to groundwater data was obtained from a United States Geological <br />Survey (USGS) well identified as Site Number 380452103484300 - SC02305705BAD3 (the <br />Well), which has a total depth of 24 feet. The Well is monitored by the USGS, which has <br />recorded 80 water level measurements, beginning in March 1965 and last recorded in <br />December 2018. The shallowest recorded depth to groundwater measurement was 1.77 feet <br />bgs in September 1999. The deepest recorded depth to groundwater measurement was <br />16.22 feet bgs in March 2004. <br /> <br />We graphed the recorded depth to groundwater measurements for the Well to assess the <br />depth to groundwater trend (see Figure 1 below). The groundwater measurements in Figure 1 <br />show that a significant change in the groundwater levels occurred in 1994. Review of Figure <br />1 also reveals that the groundwater levels from approximately March 1965 to March 1994 <br />were usually deeper than 6 feet bgs, and that only 2 of the 33 depth to groundwater <br />measurements are shallower than 6 feet bgs, while from 1994 to 2018 15 of the 47 <br />measurements were shallower than 6 feet bgs. <br /> <br />Noting that the well is approximately 200 feet to the northeast of the Catlin Canal, we <br />considered that the Catlin Canal may be influencing the depth to groundwater at the Well. The <br />annual volume of diversion of the Catlin Canal (in acre-feet) was added to Figure 1 on a <br />secondary axis. This addition to Figure 1 shows that the general trends of the annual volume <br />of diversions match the general trends of the depth to groundwater measurements. Review <br />of annual diversion records reveals that since 1994 annual diversions were greater than <br />100,000 acre-feet in 15 of 25 years (60% of the period) and averaged approximately 95,600 <br />acre-feet, while from 1965 through 1993 annual diversions were greater than 100,000 acre- <br />feet in only 8 of 29 years (28% of the period) and averaged approximately 85,800 acre-feet. <br />Martin and Wood Water Consultants, Inc. <br />538 Commons Drive, Golden, CO 80401 <br />Phone: (303) 526-2600 Fax: (303) 526-2624 <br />www.martinandwood.com