The Black Forest Water and Wells Committee has almost completed the first round of well testing.The committee was formed in March 2019 as part of the Friends of the Black Forest Preservation Plan organization. Terry Stokka, committee member, said the mission of the water and wells committee is to advocate for groundwater quality and quantity, and to promote sustainability for the Dawson aquifer, which provides water to Black Forest.Stokka said the well-monitoring program will measure water levels in private wells over a span of many years. Eighty-six people volunteered their wells; the committee chose 49 to provide a representative sampling for the Black Forest area. Stokka said they purchased a state-of-the-art sonic tester, which is held over the top of the wellhead to bounce sound waves off the surface of the water. “The sonic device converts the outbound and rebounding sound waves into the number of feet between the top of the well and the level of the water (static water level) in the well,î he said. ìThe static water level is the depth in feet to the top of the water in the well.”These readings are placed into a database to compare to previous levels as well as the original static level; the data is protected and not available to the public, Stokka said. They will test wells twice the first year then once a year after that. He said the next testing is in October. ìWe are all concerned about our private wells and the long-term sustainability of water for our homes, Stokka said. ìIt is our hope that this program will continue for many years and will give accurate and trustworthy data to monitor what is happening to our groundwater in the Dawson aquifer.î
