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News Release, Kansas Geological Survey, March 17, 2000


Results of Water-level Measurements Available

LAWRENCE--Results of water-level measurements for about 1,500 wells in western Kansas are now available from the Kansas Geological Survey, based at the University of Kansas. The wells were measured in January, 2000.

Water specialists are still analyzing regional changes in water levels by comparing this year's measurements with previous measurements. However, results of the measurement of individual wells are available at the Survey's web site at http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Magellan/WaterLevels/index.html. That data base has information on more than 100,000 water wells in the state, including those measured each January. The data base can be searched by county, by legal description, or by groundwater management district. For each well, the data base shows water level, type of well, and the well's exact location.

Other reports and information specifically about the wells measured each January is also available at http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Magellan/WaterLevels/CD/index.htm. That information can also be purchased on CD-ROM by calling the Survey at 785-864-2176.

The Survey and staff at the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture measured levels in about 1,500 wells in January 2000. The wells are measured each year to provide a snapshot of water levels in 45 western and central Kansas counties.

Most of the wells measured are used for irrigation. Wells are measured each January, after the irrigation season, to allow time for the water table to stabilize. Results of measurement are used in water management, by individual well owners, and by lending institutions and other organizations.


Links of interest to this article:
KGS Public Information Circular 12--"Measuring Water Levels in Kansas," by Richard D. Miller, Rex Buchanan and Liz Brosius
WIZARD--The KGS Water Information Storage and Retrieval Database
2000 Annual Water Level Program--A web site with the results of this year's work.
Technical Series 13--A short extract from "January 1999 Kansas Water Levels and Data Related to Water-level Changes" by John J. Woods, Jeffrey A. Schloss, and P. Allen Macfarlane

Story by Rex Buchanan, (785) 864-3965
For more information contact Rick Miller, (785) 864-3965

Kansas Geological Survey, Publications and Public Affairs
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