Water-Level Compilation, Analysis and Processing for the Central Region of Nevada

The Central Nevada Regional Water Authority (CNRWA) was established by county commissions that have a part of the Central Hydrographic Region (CHR) in their counties. Today, the CNRWA has seven member counties: Churchill, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Lander, Nye, and White Pine. An eighth member county, Pershing County, will join in January 2008. CHR is the largest hydrographic region in Nevada (1 of 14). The Central Hydrographic Region has 78 gound-water basins in 12 counties. Hydrographic information in the Central Region is limited; many basins have been studied only at the reconnaissance level. Data that do exist are held by a variety of federal and state agencies, local government, private and non-governmental organizations, making the widely dispersed data difficult to access for decision makers.

The creation of a ground-water level measurement database for CNRWA is beneficial; CRNWA members can use this database to 1) evaluate the sustainability of current ground-water supplies, 2) identify impacts of future development, and 3) reinforce future actions to secure good, quality water for use by member counties. Ground-water level measurements can be evaluated for temporal trends, identify the occurrence and movement of ground water, and to help quantify subsurface flow between basins. These are necessary early steps in developing an understanding of the water resources in a basin.Management of water-resources information as well as water-resources planning is an ongoing commitment that benefits all communities within the CNRWA counties.

Objectives

Compile, assess and, where necessary, process all existing ground-water-level measurements and supporting attributes for the Central Region. In 2006, existing water-level data were identified, characterized and sampled for inclusion in the database. In 2007, water-level data was evaluated for quality and, where necessary, processed into a database. The database directly supports the information management system that will be developed concurrently for CNRWA. A map of the Central Region ground-water-level data was produced, data gaps were identified and prioritized, field verification of questionable data was conducted, and a summary report of methods and findings was written.

Strategy and Approach

The project consisted of five main tasks. The data processing task involved collaborating with local, state and federal agencies responsible for maintaining ground-water-level data for the Central Region. The sample datasets acquired during 2006 were evaluated for content and quality. A data processing scheme was developed in coordination with CNRWA. A ground-water-level database was designed and populated in collaboration with CNRWA to ensure easy integration with the data serving software. The project also included field visits to verify the location and accuracy of questionable data. Based on the information determined, an assessment that prioritizes collection of future water-level data was documented. Throughout the project, there was active participation on the interagency planning team formed to provide direction and decision making for all aspects of the IMS. This work resulted in several documents including a map of the Central Region detailing the ground-water-level data distribution, a summary of the data processing scheme, and recommendations for future ground-water-level data collection efforts.