Groundwater mapping study to see where resources stand

If you saw a strange sight, flying in the sky today, don’t be alarmed. The Marina Coast Water District is working to further map groundwater.

While this flying, gymnastic-like, contraction might look crazy- it serves a very useful purpose. Keith Van Der Maaten with the Marina Coast Water District says, “I think the everyday person around here maybe takes for granted how much work goes into making sure that the water is there every day.”

The water district has been working closely with Aqua Geo Frameworks to put together this project. This “array on the bottom of a helicopter and flying the area to get an MRI if you will, or a picture of what is happening subsurface,” says Van Der Maaten.

The map helps identify locations of salt water intrusion, a big problem on the Central Coast. Van Der Maaten says, “It’s perfect technology for what we are trying to get out of it, which is to tell where the sea water is, and where the freshwater is.”

This survey for the first time two years ago during the drought. This latest survey will allow the district
to compare dry conditions to conditions post-drought. It’s going to take a little bit of time to process all of this data, but they should have some results in over the coming weeks.