WATER TOPICS

WINTER STORMS & WELL RESPONSE? CHECK WITH US IN APRIL

We are half way through the wettest months of the year and have a good chance of getting more rain and snow during February and March. While we are already beginning to see water levels in a few of our wells rise, probably a response to the wet weather last October, we will not know how this winters' precipitation affects our well production until the spring.

Unlike ground water levels, lake levels respond almost immediately to the surface water runoff from the many streams in the valley. The most obvious indication of how much moisture the valley has received shows up in the rising water levels in Big Bear, Erwin, Baldwin, and Dead Man's Lakes. DWP's horizontal, or gravity, wells responded to this winter's rain and snow within a few weeks. However, horizontal wells tap into much shallower aquifers than the rest of DWP's production wells. Nonetheless, this may indicate that we can expect above average recharge this year.

Historically, the highest annual water levels are measured in our wells in April and May. For instance, the highest water levels measured monthly in our Elm monitoring wells have been recorded 14 times in the past 18 years in April, twice in May, and once each in March and June. At our Rathbun monitoring well, near the DWP office, the highest annual water levels have been measured 4 times out of the past 18 years in March, 9 times in April, and 5 times in May. Because well production rates are highest when water levels in wells are high, we cannot predict what summer water supplies will be until we see how water levels respond this coming spring. So, check with us in April. We'll have a much clearer picture of well response and our ground water supply at that time.

WATER
COMMUNITY RESOURCE, COMMUNITY SOLUTION

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