Oklahoma Water Resources Board

Link to: Oklahoma Water Resources Board Groundwater Information

NGWMN Contact:

Chris Adams

(405) 549-3999

chris.adams@owrb.ok.gov

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) is a water-level data provider to the National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN). OKWRB began collecting groundwater data in the 1950s to manage and improve water resources in Oklahoma. Since then, OKWRB has expanded to maintain 467 well sites, 17 of which are currently being served on the NGWMN Portal. OKWRB has been a part of the Network since 2016.

OKWRB provides water-level data from the Rush Springs, Blaine, Arbuckle-Simpson, High Plains, and Central Oklahoma aquifers.

NGWMN Projects:

2015: 1/1/2016 to 12/31/2016

Initial project to become new NGWMN data provider.

2016 Round 2: 10/31/2016 to 10/30/2018

Project is to complete tasks to become a NGWMN data provider, support persistent data services, and well drilling. Their initial project involved setting up web services for only their water-level data. This project will complete the new data provider work by adding Lithology and well construction web services and completing the classification of sites. Two years of persistent data support is also provided. Four wells will be drilled to fill gaps in the Ozark Plateaus aquifer.

2018: 9/1/2018 to 8/31/2020

This is a two-year project to expand their data services, provide persistent data services, do site information gap filling, and perform well maintenance. They will be setting up new web services to serve water-quality data and discrete water-level data. They will be doing downhole camera work to evaluation well casing/screen conditions and doing slug tests to determine connectivity between the well and the aquifer.

2019: 11/15/2019 to 11/14/2021

Project will add 93 new water-level sites and 22 water-quality sites to the Network, provide persistent data services for 1 year, conduct borehole camera surveys of 9 wells, and perform slug testing on up to 22 wells.

2020: 11/16/3030 to 11/15/2022

Project will provide persistent data services for two years to ensure that data continues to flow to the NGWMN Data Portal, and that sites and site information are up to date. They will also add 43 new water-level sites and 10 new water-quality sites to the NGWMN. They will do borehole camera surveys to determine lithology at 25 wells and will do well integrity testing on the same 25 wells. They will also drill three new wells to fill gaps in the Rush Springs aquifer.

2021: 11/1/2021 to 10/31/2022

This project is to perform persistent data services and to upgrade 19 water-level network sites to continuous monitoring.

NGWMN Presentations:

December 2016 presentation to SOGW

Site Selection and Classification

Site Selection

Upon evaluating Oklahoma's Groundwater Monitoring and Assessment Program (GMAP) current water level network and NGWMN goals, continuous data recorder sites in each Principal Aquifer should be able to fulfill the NGWMN minimum density goal based on area for the trend network of 1 site per 1,000 square mile. With the addition of OWRB trend water level sites, manually measured three times per year, density goals for the NGWMN trend network based on usage and development of the Principal Aquifers could potentially be met. The OWRB's annual water level sites should be able to fulfill density goals for the NGWMN surveillance network. At this time only continuous recorder sites in four principal aquifers were targeted. Seventeen continuous recorder sites were identified for the NGWMN registry; five sites in the Rush Springs Aquifer, five sites in the Central Oklahoma (known locally as Garber-Wellington) Aquifer, one site in the Blaine Aquifer, three sites in the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer, and three sites in the High Plains (locally known as the Ogallala) Aquifer. A few recorders in each aquifer are located at Oklahoma Mesonet sites that concurrently collect meteorological data.

GMAP selects sites to install recorders through a multi-step evaluation process. Once well location and placement in the correct aquifer is verified, landowners are contacted for permission to access their property and their well. Upon receiving permission, reconnaissance visits to each site are made to verify location, depth, and diameter of well casing. Staff also makes note of other construction details, if the well was functioning, and any potential sources of contamination nearby. If a site is currently unused, the owner has no plans for use in the near future, and the site is secure from the public but accessible by OWRB staff, then it is considered a candidate for continuous monitoring. Wells with a period of record prior to GMAP were also considered. Final selection are made by the Groundwater Quality Manager. Some recorder sites in the GMAP program are inherited from the OWRB's Planning & Management (P&M) section. At the end of an intensive aquifer study, P&M staff will recommend sites that they have good data from as candidates for long-term continuous recorders through the GMAP program. Final selection is done through collaboration between the P&M and the Groundwater Quality managers.

Site Classification

Each of the seventeen continuous recorder sites would fall under the NGWMN monitoring category of "Trend". They are dedicated wells, continuously measuring water levels, and sites can fulfill the requested density of 1/1,000 mi2 in the principal aquifers. Metadata concerning construction & lithology for most sites should be complete.

In order to determine the subnetwork category, GMAP staff first noted the period of record for each well and when a continuous recorder was installed. Most recorder sites were measured manually for years prior to installation. Staff examined land use, major landmarks, surface waters, and proximity to cities within 3 miles of the site using GIS, aerial maps, and site field notes. Staff also noted the number of reported well records within those 3 miles, along with any permits for groundwater usage and stream water diversion. Each site was examined individually and all of the above information was used to determine the classification.

Seven sites are designated as "unconfined" with three wells (High Plains) designated as having documented anthropogenic interference while the other four (one Blaine, three Arbuckle-Simpson) are sub-categorized as background sites.

Utilizing the tip sheets and well registry guidance provided by the NGWMN, sites and their metadata were compiled and then entered into the online registry.

Data Collection Techniques

Data collection procedures were reviewed and compared to Appendix 5 of the NGWMN Framework Document . These field techniques can be found here. Staff identified gaps in the program's post-field data flow and approval processes, which were then addressed. A multi-step plan for correcting and improving these processes has begun.

Data Management

Continuous recorder managers upload the collected date from field handheld devices or laptops into Aquarius. Site visits with any measurement activities are manually entered into Aquarius. QA for completeness on this process is done three times per year by either the Groundwater Quality Manager or someone they designate, checking against the field data sheets.

Continuous recorder managers apply instrument drift corrections and grades to the data series as they upload data into Aquarius Time-Series software. Staff also looks for suspicious values or slopes in the data, investigating any irregularities. The Groundwater Quality Manager looks at the corrected and graded data to either approve it as Final Data, viewable to the public, or return it to staff for any irregularities.

Calibration corrections are applied as needed for specific time periods. Datum corrections will be applied on periodic basis determined by the Groundwater Quality Manager and the OWRB Data Manager. Programmed QC checks by Aquarius Time-Series for suspicious values and slopes at each site are planned for the future of the program.

All data is stored and archived in Aquatic Informatics' Aquarius Time-Series software. This software preserves the original, raw data. When a site is taken offline, any recorder data is kept in the software.