USGS scientists to discuss Inland Coastal groundwater study

Pdf version of news release

Public invited to informational meeting Wednesday in Livermore  

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists will present information Wednesday on a large-scale study of groundwater-quality in several California inland coastal valleys from Alameda to Ventura counties.

The meeting, conducted by the State Water Resources Control Board and the USGS, is set for 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, August 6, at the Zone 7 Water Agency, 100 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, CA.

Maps, an agenda and other information are available at the State Water Board’s Web site.

The Water Board’s Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program is collaborating with the USGS and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL) to conduct the Priority Basin Project. The main goals of GAMA are to improve comprehensive statewide groundwater monitoring and to increase the availability of groundwater quality information to the public.

The USGS California Water Science Center is the project lead for the Priority Basin Project. With the voluntary cooperation of local water agencies and well owners, USGS is testing water in California groundwater basins over a 10-year period.

The Inland Coastal Ranges unit is one of 35 GAMA groundwater study units and consists of the interior groundwater basins of the Livermore Valley; the Llagas, Bolsa, Hollister, and San Juan Bautista areas of the Gilroy-Hollister Valley, and the Cuyama Valley. The study unit includes portions of Alameda, Santa Clara, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Kern, and Ventura counties.

Water-quality sampling will start August 11. A report on the data is expected to be available in about a year.

The GAMA Priority Basin Project is designed to characterize water quality in groundwater basins. GAMA does not evaluate the quality of water delivered to consumers. After withdrawal from the ground, water for public systems is typically treated or mixed to maintain water quality before consumers receive it.

###

The U.S. Geological Survey's California Water Science Center operates project offices in Sacramento and San Diego where more than 130 scientists bring a broad range of disciplines to modern water-management issues. The center also has nine field offices where scientists and technicians gather hydrologic data on California's surface-water and ground-water resources.

USGS provides science for a changing world.