Soil-Plant Water Balance and Groundwater

Soil-Plant Water Balance and Groundwater - Taboose-Aberdeen, Thibaut-Sawmill, Independence-Oak, Symmes-Shepherd, Bairs-Georges

On-off pumping management according to Green Book Section III values for Vegetation Water Requirements 1989-2026.

Modified

June 19, 2026

On/Off Well Management

How on/off well management works

The Water Agreement and Green Book establish protocols for determining the operational status of LADWP pumping wells based on soil moisture and vegetation measurements. To fulfill monitoring requirements under the Agreement, the Water Department regularly assesses soil moisture content and vegetation leaf area index, in collaboration with LADWP, at 22 permanent sites within wellfields and seven sites in control areas. Soil moisture monitoring occurs monthly, while vegetation monitoring occurs annually in June. Each monitoring site is associated with one or more LADWP pumping wells.

On July 1 and October 1, if soil moisture levels are inadequate to support vegetation needs at a site, the linked pumping wells are placed in off status. They remain offline until soil moisture levels exceed the threshold required by the vegetation at the time the linked wells entered off status. This operational approach is known as the on/off management strategy.

Since the strategy began in 1990, LADWP has frequently maintained numerous wells in off status, consistent with subsequent agreements with the County.

How to read the site plots

Data for each permanent monitoring site (1990-present) are presented in three linked plots. The first plot shows pumping from linked production wells. The second shows available water content (AWC) and vegetation water requirements (VWR) over time. The third shows depth to water (DTW) from the associated monitoring well. Green shading marks periods when the site was in on status; off periods are unshaded.

Each site starts with a compact card showing the site photo, linked production wells, current on/off status, AWC required for well turn-on, the associated monitoring well, and a static map of the site and linked wells.

Instructions

Zoom out: Double-click a plot to return to the full time-series extent.
Data point highlighting: Move the cursor over a plot to display data values in the legend.
Zoom in: Drag horizontally to select a time period or vertically to select a custom y-axis range.
Grouped selection: Selecting a time period in one plot updates all plots.

TABOOSE/ABERDEEN MONITORING SITE #3

TA3

Taboose/Aberdeen Monitoring Site #3

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 106, 110, 111, 114
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 849T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 849T

TABOOSE/ABERDEEN MONITORING SITE #4

TA4

Taboose/Aberdeen Monitoring Site #4

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 342, 347
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 586T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 586T

TABOOSE/ABERDEEN MONITORING SITE #5

TA5

Taboose/Aberdeen Monitoring Site #5

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 349
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 801T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 801T

TABOOSE/ABERDEEN MONITORING SITE #6

TA6

Taboose/Aberdeen Monitoring Site #6

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 109, 370
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 803T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 803T

THIBAUT/SAWMILL MONITORING SITE #1

TS1

Thibaut/Sawmill Monitoring Site #1

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 159
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 807T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 807T

THIBAUT/SAWMILL MONITORING SITE #2

TS2

Thibaut/Sawmill Monitoring Site #2

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 155
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 806T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 806T

THIBAUT/SAWMILL MONITORING SITE #3

TS3

Thibaut/Sawmill Monitoring Site #3

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 103, 104, 382
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 851T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 851T

THIBAUT/SAWMILL MONITORING SITE #4

TS4

Thibaut/Sawmill Monitoring Site #4

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 380, 381
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 804T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 804T

THIBAUT/SAWMILL CONTROL SITE

TSC

Thibaut/Sawmill Control Site

Current status: NA
Linked pumping wells: Control site
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 805T

INDEPENDENCE/OAK MONITORING SITE #1

IO1

Independence/Oak Monitoring Site #1

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 061, 391, 400
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 809T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 809T

INDEPENDENCE/OAK MONITORING SITE #2

IO2

Independence/Oak Monitoring Site #2

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 063
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 854T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 854T

INDEPENDENCE/OAK CONTROL SITE #1

IC1

Independence/Oak Control Site #1

Current status: NA
Linked pumping wells: Control site
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: USGS 8-D

INDEPENDENCE/OAK CONTROL SITE #2

IC2

Independence/Oak Control Site #2

Current status: NA
Linked pumping wells: Control site
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 810T

SYMMES/SHEPHERD MONITORING SITE #1

SS1

Symmes/Shepherd Monitoring Site #1

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 069, 392, 393
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: V009G

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: V009G

SYMMES/SHEPHERD MONITORING SITE #2

SS2

Symmes/Shepherd Monitoring Site #2

Current status: OFF
Linked pumping wells: 074, 394, 395
Soil AWC required for turn-on: 25.6, OFF 7-11
Monitoring well: 646T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 646T

SYMMES/SHEPHERD MONITORING SITE #3

SS3

Symmes/Shepherd Monitoring Site #3

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 092, 396
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 561T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 561T

SYMMES/SHEPHERD MONITORING SITE #4

SS4

Symmes/Shepherd Monitoring Site #4

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 075, 345
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 885T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 885T

BAIRS GEORGES MONITORING SITE #2

BG2

Bairs/Georges Monitoring Site #2

Current status: ON
Linked pumping wells: 076, 403, 343, 348
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 812T

Shading: green = on; off periods are unshaded

Depth to Water: 812T

BAIRS/GEORGES CONTROL SITE

BGC

Bairs/Georges Control Site

Current status: NA
Linked pumping wells: Control site
Soil AWC required for turn-on: NA
Monitoring well: 856T

Citation

BibTeX citation:

@report{2026,
  author = {},
  publisher = {Inyo County Water Department},
  title = {Soil-Plant {Water} {Balance} and {Groundwater} -
    {Taboose-Aberdeen,} {Thibaut-Sawmill,} {Independence-Oak,}
    {Symmes-Shepherd,} {Bairs-Georges}},
  date = {2026-06-19},
  url = {https://github.com/inyo-gov/pumping-management},
  langid = {en}
}

For attribution, please cite this work as:

“Soil-Plant Water Balance and Groundwater - Taboose-Aberdeen, Thibaut-Sawmill, Independence-Oak, Symmes-Shepherd, Bairs-Georges.” 2026. Green Book Section III On/Off Pumping Management. Inyo County Water Department. https://github.com/inyo-gov/pumping-management.