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ground water table

m1208

Structural
Apr 6, 2011
69
I am looking for a website for ground water table elevations (approximate). At this time, we do not want to do the site explorer testing.
 
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Where? California or the Gobi Desert or Europa?

If it's California you are after, this data is available from the California Department of Water Resources, including the related Sustainable Groundwater Management Agency website (https://sgma.water.ca.gov/CalGWLive/). Many local irrigation districts, cities, and counties also maintain such information for their geographic area of jurisdiction.

If it's the Gobi Desert you are after, is your area of interest in the Chinese or Mongolian part?

If it's Europa you are after, we all have to wait until the recently launched Europa Clipper space probe gets there in April 2030.

I apologize for the snarky tone, but you really needed to narrow down your request to a specific location/region.

In addition, please note that published groundwater data may only pertain to the main aquifer(s) and not to any shallow groundwater lenses. If you are interested in shallow groundwater lenses in an area with deeper aquifers, you may need to seek out geotechnical reports for nearby projects, well drilling logs, etc.
 
Thanks for your comments. The zip code is 93555, Ridgecrest, CA. Basically i am interested to shallow groundwater elevations to monitor the moisture content of the concrete-slab floor.
 
As I suggested above, you could try the SGMA website to see if it has shallow groundwater levels for Ridgecrest. I haven't looked at that website in detail in a couple years, so I don't know if it can answer your question. The four maps it presents have data points in and around Ridgecrest, but I don't know if the data represents shallow groundwater or deeper aquifers. You may need to contact DWR to get an answer. I just came across this USGS website (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ca/nwis/gw/) that you may want to look at as well.

If the SGMA and USGS websites don't help you, then I suggest talking to the City of Ridgecrest Public Works Department (and perhaps the Kern County Public Works Department), local geotechs, local well drillers, and/or local building contractors see if they have relevant information. I have done site civil design for two building projects in the Mojave Desert, but they were in Lancaster and Victorville. I have no personal project experience in Ridgecrest. I have only driven through it several times. :)

I also don't know how variable the local shallow groundwater levels are. In some places I have worked, shallow groundwater is quite variable and tracks with the rainfall patterns. In other area, the variability is slow and is not strongly tied to the seasons. I bring this up because unless the data is very recent and you have information about groundwater trends, you may not be able to get satisfactory information without actually getting a drill rig into the field.
 
If its critical to know this for your concrete slab, you may need to do some investigation. If its only shallow information that you need, perhaps test pits instead of drill holes and ideally outside of the building footprint so you don't disturb the area you are building on.
 

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