DEPTH TO WATER, SATURATED THICKNESS, AND OTHER GEOSPATIAL DATASETS USED IN THE DESIGN AND INSTALLATION OF A GROUNDWATER MONITORING-WELL NETWORK IN THE HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER, COLORADO

By Jennifer L. Flynn, L. Rick Arnold, and Susan S. Paschke

2009

U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 472

I. ABSTRACT

These datasets were compiled in support of U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 456, 
“Design and Installation of a Groundwater Monitoring-Well Network in the High Plains 
Aquifer, Colorado.”  These datasets were developed as part of a cooperative project 
between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Colorado Department of Agriculture.  The 
purpose of the project was to design a 30-well network and install 20 of the 30 wells 
to characterize water quality in the High Plains aquifer in areas of irrigated 
agriculture in Colorado.  The five datasets are described as follows and are further 
described in Data Series 456:
 
(1) ds472_dtw: This dataset represents the depth to groundwater in the 	High 	
Plains Aquifer in Colorado in 2000.  This grid was used to determine 	
areas where the depth to water was less than 200 feet below land surface.  
(2) ds472_sat: This dataset represents the saturated thickness of the High 	
Plains aquifer within Colorado in 2000. This grid was used to determine 	
areas where the saturated thickness was greater than 50 feet.
(3) ds472_equalareas: This dataset includes 30 equal-area polygons overlying the 	
High Plains Aquifer in Colorado having a depth to water less than 200 	
feet, a saturated thickness greater than 50 feet, and underlying irrigated 	
agricultural lands.
(4) ds472_randomsites: This dataset includes 90 randomly-generated potential 	
groundwater sampling sites.  This dataset provides a first, second, and 	
third choice placed within the 30 equal area polygons of dataset 	
ds472_equalareas.
(5) ds472_welldata: This dataset includes point locations and well completion 	
data for the 20 wells installed as part of this project.
 
II. DISCLAIMERS

Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the 
U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty, expressed or implied is made regarding the 
display or utility of the data on any other system, or for general or scientific 
purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute such warranty.  The U.S. 
Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the 
data described and/or contained herein.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, 
it also contains copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce 
copyrighted items for other than personal use must be secured from the copyright owner.

Any use of trade, product or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does 
not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

III. CONTENTS

00README.txt
ds_metadata.zip
	ds472_dtw.met
	ds472_equalareas.met
	ds472_randomsites.met
	ds472_sat.met
	ds472_welldata.met

IV. LOCATION OF DATA

The datasets that pertain to this report can be found on the U.S. Geological Survey’s 
NSDI (National Spatial Data Infrastructure)Node:

http://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?ds472_dtw
http://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?ds472_equalareas
http://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?ds472_randomsites
http://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?ds472_sat
http://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?ds472_welldata

V. INSTRUCTIONS AND DOCUMENTATION FOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DATA SERIES 415

The metadata files and links to the datasets can be downloaded via the web from:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/472, or the URL’s mentioned above.