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Project Title: Groundwater Stations
Project Number: NQ00ANG00 - MN002
Project Chief: Tim Cowdery
Project Start Date: Ongoing
Project End Date: Ongoing
Cooperator: USGS Office of Groundwater, Upper Sioux Community, and Prairie Island Dakota Community

Project Objective: Continuously monitor groundwater levels, groundwater temperature, and precipitation

Progress during FY11: Continuous water level, water temperature, shelter temperature, and precipitation continued to be recorded at 4 wells for the Collection-of-Basic-Records (CBR) program of the USGS Office of groundwater, at 4 wells for the Upper Sioux Community, and at 1 well for the Lower Sioux Community, 2 wells for the Prairie Island Dakota Community, 3 wells for the Bemidji project, and 4 wells for the Rochester project. Fall maintenance was completed. New reference points were established and surveyed at all Upper and Lower Sioux wells, and at 2 of 4 CBR wells. Records were approved and annual report pages were produced. Procedures for running real-time GW sites were documented. Funds were transferred from the Bemidji project for groundwater hydrographs. One continuous GW record at an existing site and 3 one-half-year records at new sites are now the responsibility of this project. Procedures have been changed so that rainfall records are now collected according to OSW guidelines. Most sites continue to work well, with no loss of record and required calibration corrections of less than 0.1 feet, most less than 0.05 feet.

Statement of Work for FY12: Responsibility for the remaining 12 Glacial Ridge and Cass Lake continuous GW records in the district will be transferred to this project. These records will include 1 hydrograph and 1 thermograph. Rainfall records will be on an actual cost basis for FY2011. Reference points will be installed at the remaining 2 CBR wells. We will begin populating a 2-decimal place data descriptor for water levels for display in NWIS.