Pajaro Valley Water partners with USGS for Pajaro River studies

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency announced two new stream-gaging stations on the Pajaro River.

PV Water is partnering with the United States Geological Survey to provide data for streamflow infiltration and groundwater recharge. The water management agency said new gaging stations could be used to support future studies concerning groundwater-dependent ecosystems.

The gaging station at the Main Street Bridge provides publicly available data of Pajaro River levels and discharge, or flow rates. The gage at Murphy Crossing is said to help PV Water and USGS measure the amount of river water that recharges the groundwater basin.

“The new data will be incorporated into the Pajaro Valley Hydrologic Model (PVHM), a water resources management planning tool, currently being updated and refined in partnership with the USGS,” said Casey Meusel, associate hydrologist with PV Water. “The PVHM will benefit from new data sources, as it will improve the accuracy of the model, which will better inform decision-makers at PV Water.”