History

The Well Watch Program (WWP) started in 1991 when they installed the first groundwater monitoring well at Eaton Elementary School in Northern Colorado. They added two more wells in 1992 and fourteen more by 1995, spreading them from Eaton to Pueblo. This program was led by the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District (CCWCD), and they got help from different partners who generously supported the drilling and construction with their time, labor, permits, and equipment.

However, there was a problem because the technology at that time couldn’t save and study the data collected by students very well. As a result, teachers and students lost some interest in the project. In 2011, CCWCD and the Poudre Learning Center (PLC) brought the program back. They made a website where students from different schools could share their data and use tools to study it. This change allowed students to come up with their own questions about groundwater and use the data to find answers.

Images from the Well Watch Program