USGS -- Water Resources of the United States

Climate Response Network


Climate Response Network Well Count: 582

Map generated 1/10/2012 7:28:30 AM

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The USGS maintains a network of wells to monitor the effects of droughts and other climate variability on groundwater levels. The network consists of a national network of about 130 wells monitored as part of the Groundwater Resources Program, supplemented by wells in some States monitored as part of the Cooperative Water Program.

The water-level changes in the Climate Response Network should primarily reflect climatic variability and not human influences. The climate variations of interest are those that affect recharge on monthly and longer time scales; not barometric or tidal influences. Observation wells should satisfy the following criteria:

Open to a single, known hydrogeologic unit
Known well construction that allows good water-level measurements
Located in unconfined aquifers or near-surface confined aquifers that respond to climatic fluctuations
Minimally affected by pumpage and likely to remain so
Essentially unaffected by irrigation, canals, and other potential sources of artificial recharge
Long-term accessibility
Well has never gone dry (not susceptible to going dry)

For more information about the Climate Response Network, see Cunningham and others (2007) at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3003/

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Last update: Tuesday, October 04, 2011 at 15:36