Proposed San Antonio Groundwater Availability Project
Claudia Faunt and Matt Landon
California Water Science CenterU.S. Geological Survey
Stakeholders
• Overlying Land Owners• Agricultural Interests• Los Alamos Community Service District• Vandenberg Air Force Base• Santa Barbara County Water Agency• United States Geological Survey
Benefits of the Study• Develop a greater understanding of the hydrology of
the San Antonio Groundwater Basin• Quantify the resources of aquifer• Define groundwater availability with respect to
quantity and quality• Predict potential effects of continued groundwater
overdraft• Evaluate impacts of future groundwater
development on different parts of the basin under differing climatic and cultural water use scenarios
Objectives
(1) refine the geohydrologic framework of the San Antonio Creek Valley,
(2) quantify the hydrologic budget of the valley, and
(3) develop hydrologic modeling tools to evaluate, analyze, and manage the groundwater resources.
Study Area
Project Tasks(1) data compilation and new data acquisition,
• Increase groundwater level monitoring network• Increase water quality sampling• Drill dedicated observation wells• Install stream gauges
(2) model development, (3) analysis of water availability, and (4) report preparation.
Note: Santa Barbara County will be instrumental in the success of these tasks, particularly data acquisition.
Current Hydrologic DataMap showing location of wells, generalized geology, and
selected groundwater-level hydrographs.
Multiple-Well Monitoring
Sitestypical construction
Foothill Road Multiple-Well Monitoring
Site
Observation Well - Cuyama Example
~40 ft of annual water-level difference
Recent Water Levels - Cuyama
From USGS Geohydrology Report, 2013
Downward Looking Radar Continuous Stream Gauge:
Upper Cuyama River, Ventucopa (11136500)
Stream Gauge Installation: Reyes Ranch, Santa Barbara Canyon, Ventucopa (11136600)
Stream Gauges - Cuyama Example
Discharge Graphs for Stream GaugesFrom USGS Geohydrology Report, 2013
• MODFLOW with Farm Processes (Schmid and Hanson, 2005)
• Finite Difference Integrated Hydrologic Model
• Three dimensional representation of aquifer(s) and zones
• Simulates recharge, evapotranspiration, flow to wells, flow through different zones
Integrated Hydrologic and Geohydrologic Model
From USGS Geologic Framework Report, 2013
Hydrologic Analysis – Central Valley Example
Hydrologic Analysis – Central Valley Example
• Board of Supervisors hearing to approve project: Late summer, 2014
• Project kickoff: October, 2014• Existing data compilation: Fall, 2014• Drill dedicated observation wells and auger
holes: 2015• Expand water level and water quality
monitoring network: 2015 - 2018• Testing of hydraulic properties: 2015-2016• Groundwater model development: 2017• Analysis and report, project complete: 2018
Estimated Timeline
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