Napa County Data Management System

In 2009, Napa County recognized a need to advance the local understanding of groundwater conditions, building on the County’s multi-generational commitment to groundwater monitoring. Data collected by the County since the mid-1960s and by other public agencies since the 1920s had informed past management actions, but a growing awareness of the importance of groundwater resources for ecological and economic uses highlighted the need for systematic data management.

Informed by meetings with County staff regarding data needs and capabilities, we developed a water resources data management system (DMS) as a key component of Napa County’s evolving groundwater management program. The relational database design developed by LSCE provided, for the first time, a means to address the problem of ‘data silos’ by consolidating and utilizing data collected across the county by various public entities. The DMS also improved the County’s ability to perform aquifer-specific evaluations by linking well construction information to monitoring data.

LSCE provided training to Napa County personnel on the DMS design and its potential applications, along with a Technical Memorandum to document procedures for ongoing quality control.

The DMS has been actively used since its initial deployment in 2010. Data and tools developed as part of the Napa County DMS provide standardized data outputs for comprehensive reporting and interactive website maps designed by others (View Details). DMS-supported publications have included the 2011 Napa County Groundwater Conditions and Groundwater Monitoring Recommendations, 2013 Updated Hydrogeologic Conceptualization and Characterization of Conditions, and annual groundwater conditions reports prepared since 2014.

Significant Project Elements

• Standardized quality control procedures and flexible database design to incorporate and analyze data from local, state, and federal sources.
• Provided in-person training to about 20 Napa County staff, including demonstration of interactive mapping and data visualization capabilities
• Provides pre-formatted and quality-controlled data for standardized reporting of data to the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring (CASGEM) Program and an interactive web-based mapping application developed by the Napa County.