Arizona Wells Website: A Multi-Agency Data Integration Example

The Arizona Wells (AZWells) website was designed to provide information about wells and groundwater throughout Arizona. With the help of emerging web-based map technologies, SAHRA created the first search interface for AZWells in 2005 to allow access to groundwater information via the web. The following search criteria were offered: keyword search (any address, zip code, or well id); latitude and longitude, including a variable radius that defines an area of interest; cadastral, which includes township-range and section; owner's name; or well numbers from any agency. Other criteria allow the search to be narrowed to specific data sources or data types, such as water quality, depth-to-water, or pumpage.

The site originally drew on two state databases owned by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), the Ground Water Site Index, which is regularly compiled by its field technicians and consists of data on water levels; and Wells55, which has data mainly provided by well owners and includes well pumpage from exempt wells.

In the past year, the AZWells team incorporated and linked Arizona groundwater data from a USGS database that includes water levels, groundwater quality, and well metadata. Although these datasets were fully available on the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System, the AZWells site provides more user-friendly ways to find and visualize the information.

The AZWells team is currently working to incorporate groundwater quality data from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The team is also collaborating with the Arizona Hydrological Information System to find ways to update our database with periodic transactions using the web services provided by this platform.