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USGS HydroTube > Groundwater Videos > Groundwater Technical Procedures

USGS Groundwater Videos: Groundwater Technical Procedures Videos

The USGS Water Mission Area released a series of groundwater technical procedures documents (GWPDs) for general use by the public. These technical procedures were written in response to the need for standardized technical procedures of many aspects of groundwater science, including site and measuring-point establishment, measurement of water levels, and measurement of well discharge. To supplement these technical documents, USGS is producing a series of videos demonstrating some of the technical procedures outlined in the GWPDs.

The following USGS GWPD videos are available:

Measuring Water Level with Steel Tape
Establishing a Permanent Measuring Point and Reference Marks at a Well
Measuring Water Level with Electric Tape
Measuring Total Well Depth Using a Steel Tape
Measuring Water Level in a Flowing Well (low pressure)
Redevelop Groundwater Monitoring Wells -- Air Lift Method

Measuring Water Level with Steel Tape

GWPD 1 -- Measuring water levels by use of a graduated steel tape

Purpose: To measure the depth to the water surface below land-surface datum using the graduated steel tape (wetted-tape) method.

Download the steel tape measurement video or transcript from the USGS multimedia gallery.

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Establishing a Permanent Measuring Point and Reference Marks at a Well

GWPD 3 -- Establishing a permanent measuring point and other reference marks

Purpose: To establish a permanent measuring point at a well from which water levels are measured, to establish a permanent land-surface datum, and to establish nearby reference marks.