USGS to discuss initial results of Santa Clara River Valley groundwater study

Public invited to meeting Thursday in Ventura, Calif.

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will discuss their initial findings from a comprehensive study of untreated well water in the Santa Clara River Basin of Ventura and Los Angeles counties at a public meeting next week in Ventura, Calif.

The meeting, conducted by the State Water Resources Control Board and the USGS, will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, January 31, at the Ventura County Government Center, Pacific Conference Room, 800 S. Victoria Avenue. Directions, an agenda and other information are available at the State Water Board’s Web site at http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/gama/.

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 Assessment Project. The project monitors and assesses groundwater basins in California based on groundwater use. The main goals of GAMA are to improve comprehensive statewide groundwater monitoring and to increase the availability of groundwater quality information to the public.

With the voluntary cooperation of local water agencies and well owners, USGS is testing well water in California groundwater basins over a 10-year period.

USGS scientists sampled 53 public-supply, irrigation, industrial and domestic wells in the Santa Clara River Valley, in portions of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. At the meeting, the USGS will give an overview of the preliminary results. A full report on the sampling data is expected to be published in several months.

The GAMA Priority Basin Assessment 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.

More information on the GAMA program is available at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/gama/ and http://ca.water.usgs.gov/gama/.

USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.