The Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency (SMGWA) is installing seven new monitoring wells in the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley, part of an ambitious plan to increase the current understanding and to assess future conditions of the local groundwater resources that serve the area. The network of wells is central to the agency’s monitoring program that the SMGWA and its member agencies envision to help sustainably manage groundwater in the system of aquifers that comprise the Santa Margarita Basin. 

Drilling the new monitoring wells began on Monday, May 22. Drilling and well construction is expected to take two to four days at each site, and the entire monitoring network will be constructed by the end of July. All work is anticipated to occur Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Appropriate traffic control measures will be in place during construction. Residents near the new wells are being notified individually about the construction work. Read the latest drilling update.

Funding for this project has been provided in part from the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 and the Parks, Environment, and Water Bond Act of 2018 through an agreement with the Department of Water Resources.

Check here for Monitoring Well Construction Updates