Voluntary Groundwater Well Monitoring Program
It’s simple. It’s FREE.
Participate and you will get current, accurate data about the groundwater levels at your property.
Participate in this program to:
Know how water depth changes over the course of the year and better understand how the groundwater system beneath your land responds to winter recharge and use over the dry months. In this long-term voluntary program, measurements will be taken in spring and fall over multiple years to reveal trends in response to recharge, pumping and climatic conditions.
Groundwater: a shared community resource
Participant data will be included in the Sonoma County Groundwater Data Dashboard that shows current and historical water levels for the groundwater in your general vicinity, and that data will help inform sustainable management of groundwater for the region. Visit our Data Dashboard webpage to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does monitoring well water levels benefit well owners?
Monitoring well water levels provides essential data to help well owners manage water resources. Monitoring groundwater levels helps to:
- Prevent water quality issues that result from aquifer levels dropping below minimum thresholds
- Support the health of ecosystems that depend on groundwater to supply streams with water
- Protect the aquifers that our local economy depends on, including agriculture and tourism
Who is eligible to participate in the LEVELUP! Program?
Residential and agricultural well owners in Sonoma County are welcome to sign up and then our staff will help you find out which program is the best fit for your location in the basin, the facilitated program or the DIY program.
What does the LEVEL UP! Program provide to participating well owners?
- Tools and training to collect groundwater level measurements from their well
- Access to a data dashboard with seasonal and long-term groundwater level trends for your well
- In some cases, receive groundwater salinity data for your well
- Additional optional program to meter well water pumping to better understand demand of beneficial water use (coming soon)
- Water-level data submitted through the program will become public information, but well owner information will remain private
What is the difference between the DIY Program and the Facilitated Program?
If your well is in an area with patterns of decline, and an area designated high priority due to gaps in data, your well may be one of a few eligible to participate in a Facilitated Program where measurements are conducted for no charge to you by professionally trained technical staff.
Most participants will be part of the DIY program, which includes training via webinars and workshops, written instructional materials, free loan lending program of a professional quality sonic measuring tool for taking well level measurements.
What kind of tool is used to measure well water levels? Is it hard to use?
This 3 1/2 minute video demonstrates how to use it.
How does the tool loan program work?
Once you are registered in the program, you will get access to a tool reservation calendar to sign up for a one-day loan. Tools must be picked up and returned on the same day from one of three locations in Petaluma, Santa Rosa and Sonoma Valley. Most loans are available Monday-Friday. Some limited weekend days will be available, with priority going to volunteern group measurement days. If you are interested in organizing a local group measurement weekend event, or joining one, contact us at info@santarosaplaingroundwater.org.
I have my own device for measuring my well water level. Can I participate and use my own method?
Yes, if you have a method/tool for measuring your own well, you can use it in this program. When you fill out your well information form and get your well registered in the dashboard, you will indicate whether you need to borrow a tool or use your own. Then when you upload your measurement data you will note the device used for taking the measurement.
Always remember to refrain from pumping water for at least 2 or up to 12 hours before measuring to ensure an accurate reading.
What about Flow Metering?
While monitoring gives you information about how much water is in your well, flow-metering helps you know how much water you are using throughout the year.
In late 2024 we introduced another optional program: Flow Smart Voluntary Flow-Metering Program. The program involves support, tools and resources from our staff related to monitoring water use.
Spring measurements occur in April, fall measurements in October.
Sign up only takes a minute. We will follow up with you to get more technical details about your well.
LEVEL UP! Informational Webinar view the recording
In this webinar, we walk through the details of the LEVEL UP! program, how to get your well enrolled, and how to participate in the next measurement month. If you already track water levels and are interested in submitting data, we will cover that too.
Step-by-Step Checklist
Already signed up, but want to know what’s next? We have a step-by-step checklist of things to do before you measure in fall or spring, and what to do on measurement day, and then how to submit your information. Our staff and partner organizations are available and on-call to guide you through the process too!
Funding for this project has been provided in full or in part from The Budget Acts of 2021 and 2022 and through an agreement with the State Department of Water Resources.
