USGS to discuss initial results of North Sacramento Valley groundwater study

VIDEO: The GAMA team visits Yosemite

Public invited to Sept. 16 informational meeting in Red Bluff, CA

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will discuss their initial findings from a comprehensive study of untreated well water in the upper Sacramento Valley at a public meeting in Red Bluff, Calif.

An agenda, maps and other information are available at the State 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 project monitors and assesses groundwater 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 groundwater in California over a 10-year period.

USGS scientists sampled about 50 public-supply wells in Shasta and Tehama counties as part of the North Sacramento Valley Study Unit, which included the Anderson, Antelope, Bend, Bowman, Dye Creek, Enterprise, Los Molinos, Millville, Red Bluff, Rosewood and South Battle Creek groundwater basins.

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 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.

More information on the GAMA program

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.