News Release

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey

Release: May 26, 2008

Contact:
Lisl Fasser
253-552-1642

John Clemens
253-552-1635

Skagit Basin’s Groundwater Ups And Downs

A new interactive map on the Web shows the ups and downs of water levels in over a hundred wells in the lower Skagit River Basin, the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) announced today.

In cooperation with Skagit County and the Washington State Department of Ecology, USGS scientists measured water levels in 118 wells in the Lower Skagit River Basin during 2007 and 2008. The collected data, the first part of a larger study, will be the foundation for a groundwater model of the basin. The model will help reveal how potential groundwater pumping might affect river flows in the basin. More information about the main project is at http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/skagit/ .

"Many well owners, farmers, and irrigators provided much-needed access to their wells," said Lisl Fasser, lead author of the USGS report containing the water-level data. "We’re thankful for their cooperation, and we invite everyone to look at the on-line results."

The direct link to the interactive Web map is http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/skagit/hydrographs.htm .

The report, "Hydrographs Showing Ground-Water Level Changes for Selected Wells in the Lower Skagit River Basin, Washington," by E.T. Fasser and R.J. Julich, is published as U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 441. It can be viewed on the Web at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/441 .

USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information visit http://www.usgs.gov/ .

Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list (http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/list_server.asp) or RSS feed (http://www.usgs.gov/rss/newsroom.rss) .

*** usgs ***