Meeting Notes 12 December 2018

[alan.gib...@gmail.com]

Hello Work Group Members and Interested Folk,

Thanks for everyone's participation today, and especially Mike Thoma from OWRD for today's program!   

Our next Work Group meeting is scheduled for January 9th, 2019.  

Near-Term Action Items:

*Jo Morgan will mock up a "Challenge Statement" and "Goal Statement" for Focus Issue#2: Water Conservation Priorities and Opportunities.

*All work group members will send along feedback and suggestions for filling in the Learning and Action Template for Focus Issue #2.

*All work group members will have a safe and restorative holiday season.

Discussion Recap:

Mike Thoma, a hydrogeologist at Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) presented his response to a Technical Assistance Request around questions of water well development and groundwater use in the Mid-Coast region.  A .PDF of the information he assembled is archived on a Post dated 11/5/2018 on this website.

Two main databases exist for well data.  The larger is the Well Log Database, containing well information from well drillers, especially for ~1955 to the present.  Well logs and reports contain information about well locations, proposed use, depth, yield, geologic strata, details about the well's construction, and depth of water at the time of construction.  A smaller database is the Located Wells Database.  The Located Wells Database locations and some details have been verified by OWRD staff, often for a new or modified Water Rights Permit, a "dry well" complaint, or because they are established observation wells that monitor groundwater levels in an area.  Few Located Wells exist in the Mid-Coast Region.

Mike explained that OWRD is in the process of modernizing their databases for public access, regulatory utility, and inter-agency efficiency.  

The group discussed the databases' information about local and regional hydrogeology, including the relatively shallow and low-yield "aquifers" in our coastal hydrogeologic systems.  

Oregon Health Authority requires domestic water testing in the context of residential real estate transactions; opportunities may exist for interfacing OWRD and OHA water quality data.  

Relatively few "permitted" wells requiring a water right permit exist on the Mid-Coast (~20, <1% of wells).  The majority of wells are for exempt domestic use, not requiring a groundwater right permit, and appear in the Well Log Database as "New Work" as opposed to deepening, conversion, or abandonment.  

Across the Planning Area's basins, well yields tend to be low (<15gpa) and well constructions tend to be shallow (<100ft).

The group discussed potential data sources to begin addressing identified data gaps, such as well services contractors that may not be doing work that requires reporting to OWRD.

The group discussed potential for seasonal storage of precipitation and surface water at various scales for different uses.

Updates:

Amy Chapman reported that one potential grant proposal for well water monitoring, education, and outreach had been declined, but another is still pending decision.  The Self-Supplied Work Group provided a letter of support for the pending proposal.

Jo Morgan's seasonal duties at ODA are ramping up, potentially limiting her Work Group participation.  

Learning and Action Plans Next Steps:

The last few meetings have been very engaging, and have left little time to develop our remaining Priority Issues:

#2: Water Conservation Priorities and Opportunities

#3: Water Supply Vulnerabilities

#4: Infrastructure Status, Needs, and Vulnerabilities

Jo Morgan will mock up a starting point for filling in the Learning and Action Plan template for Issue#2: Water Conservation Priorities and Opportunities and circulate to the Work Group.  Work Group members can help fill in potential information sources and outputs.  We can complete a working draft at our January meeting.  The group agreed that this issue cuts across work groups and Priority Issues.

Our next work group meeting is scheduled for January 9th.