Acres per well in HUC6 watersheds, Washington

This dataset is composed of 6th-field Hydrologic Units (HUC6 watersheds) in Washington State. Attributes describe the presence or absence of threats to groundwater quantity in each HUC. Threats include: 1.) areas suffering from over-extraction (as indicated by areas that have been or will be evaluated for possible groundwater-use restrictions); 2.) current extraction (as indicated by well densities); 3.) predicted future community, irrigation, or industrial (non-exempt) well construction (as indicated by pending groundwater right applications); and 4.) predicted future domestic (exempt) well construction (as indicated by high-growth counties with residential areas outside urban growth boundaries). Each HUC6 is attributed for presence of a particular threat if it meets the criteria described in the report cited below and briefly listed in the attributes section of this metadata.

This dataset is part of a larger groundwater project across the Pacific NW (Brown et al. 2009) region which has two primary goals: (1) develop tools to identify where and how groundwater is important to biodiversity conservation and (2) assess the pressing threats to the quantity and quality of that groundwater and develop strategies to abate those threats. Data and analyses conducted are intended for use at a statewide scale. Therefore, more detailed mapping may be necessary at local scales. For more information please contact the Oregon or Washington Field Offices of The Nature Conservancy or see the following website http://www.waconservation.org. Washington and Oregon were mapped separately using similar methods.

Note: HUCs with less than 500 acres per well were designated as "areas at risk for high current groundwater extraction."