Contour Map
About the project:
In Pueblo, CO, Pacific Western Technology measures the groundwater surrounding a previous smelter. The potentiometric groundwater measurement, which shows the level water rises in a well, was collected from boreholes, monitoring wells, and well points. The original boreholes were placed in 2018, and we decided to add additional boreholes to gain coverage close to the historic smelter buildings.
My work
I enhanced the satellite imagery to help the ground crew place the new boreholes and mapped the latitude and longitude coordinates of all existing and new boreholes.
After collecting measurements of the groundwater at all locations in 2023, I created a map that showed contours depicting the groundwater levels associated with all boreholes and monitoring wells.
The following year, we recollected the groundwater levels, and I created another map to show the contours of the levels to contrast with 2023.
Conclusion
The project conducted has given us important insight into the current trends of the groundwater in the former smelter area. This insight will help us continue to track as well as determine future environmental risks that may arise along the way.