The California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program (GAMA) is a statewide assessment of groundwater quality designed to help better understand and identify risks to groundwater resources. GAMA is implemented by the California State Water Resources Control Board. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the technical lead for the Priority Basin Project (PBP), one of the components of the GAMA Program. Starting in 2012, GAMA began an assessment of water resources in shallow aquifers in California. These shallow aquifers provide water for domestic and small community-supply wells, which are often drilled to shallower depths in the groundwater system than public-supply wells. Shallow aquifers are of interest because shallow groundwater may respond more quickly and be more susceptible to contamination from human activities at the land surface, than the deeper aquifers (USGS, 2018). To prioritize shallow aquifers, California was divided into 938 groundwater units consisting of California Department of Water Resources (DWR) groundwater basins and highland areas outside of the basins defined by California Groundwater Units (Johnson and Belitz, 2014) or Hydrologic Units (HUC8) from the Watershed Boundary Dataset (USGS and USDA., 2013). The groundwater units were prioritized for sampling based on the number and density of households relying on domestic wells, water-use, and well-location information compiled from well-completion reports submitted to the DWR. The groundwater units were grouped into study units designed to facilitate comparison of groundwater quality between the shallow aquifer systems and the deep aquifer systems assessed by GAMA from 2004 to 2012 (Bennett, 2018). Some study units were further subdivided into study areas. The study units (and study areas when applicable) were divided into equal area polygons (cells) so that all cells within a given study unit (or study area) have an equal area. The study unit boundaries can be found in the GAMA_PBP_SAA_Boundaries shapefile included in this Data Release. The purpose of this publication is to collect and assemble all of the study area grid cells into a single GIS dataset. At the time of this publication, a total of 11 study units comprising of 27 study areas have been sampled. These study areas have been divided into a total of 726 cells, with the number of cells per study area ranging from 14 to 50 (median 25), and the size of the cells ranging from 14 to 175 km2 (median 59 km2). Two of the Monterey-Salinas Shallow Aquifer study area cells were further subdivided into subcells to get a greater spatial density of data (Goldrath et al., 2016). Additional information about the design of individual study area grids can be found in the reports listed in the Report_Ref attribute descriptions. Grid cells created for the deep aquifer systems study can be found in Johnson et al., 2018.

The California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program (GAMA) is a statewide assessment of groundwater quality designed to help better understand and identify risks to groundwater resources. GAMA is implemented by the California State Water Resources Control Board. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the technical lead for the Priority Basin Project (PBP), one of the components of the GAMA Program. Starting in 2012, GAMA began an assessment of water resources in domestic-supply (shallow) aquifers in California. These aquifers provide water for domestic and small community-supply wells, which are often drilled to shallower depths in the groundwater system than public-supply wells. Domestic-supply aquifers are of interest because shallow groundwater may respond more quickly and be more susceptible to contamination from human activities at the land surface, than the deeper aquifers (Shelton and Tejeda, 2024). To prioritize domestic-supply aquifers, California was divided into 938 groundwater units consisting of California Department of Water Resources (DWR) groundwater basins and highland areas outside of the basins defined by California Groundwater Units (Johnson and Belitz, 2014) or Hydrologic Units (HUC8) from the Watershed Boundary Dataset (USGS and USDA, 2013). The groundwater units were prioritized for sampling based on the number and density of households relying on domestic wells, water-use, and well-location information compiled from well-completion reports submitted to the DWR. The groundwater units were grouped into study units designed to facilitate comparison of groundwater quality between the shallow aquifer systems and the deep aquifer systems assessed by GAMA from 2004 to 2012 (Bennett, 2018). Some study units were further subdivided into study areas. The study units (and study areas when applicable) were divided into equal area polygons (cells) so that all cells within a given study unit (or study area) have an equal area. The study unit boundaries can be found in the GAMA_PBP_SAA_Boundaries shapefile included in this Data Release. The purpose of this publication is to collect and assemble all of the study area grid cells into a single GIS dataset. At the time of this publication, a total of 19 study units comprising of 40 study areas have been sampled. These study areas have been divided into a total of 1137 cells, with the number of cells per study area ranging from 10 to 50 (median 25), and the size of the cells ranging from 14 to 175 km2 (median 60 km2). Two of the Monterey Bay and Salinas Valley Domestic-Supply Aquifer study area cells were further subdivided into subcells to get a greater spatial density of data (Goldrath and others, 2016). Additional information about the design of individual study area grids can be found in the reports listed in the Report_Ref attribute descriptions. Grid cells created for the deep aquifer systems study can be found in Johnson and others, 2018. Version Notes: This Data Release supersedes the data release published in 2020 (version 1) and 2022 (version 2). This data release was updated to include study units sampled since version 2. Also, report references for all study units included in previous versions have been updated to reflect the most recent publications for each study unit. Minor revisions were also made to the metadata text. The version 1 and version 2 data releases may be obtained by contacting the dataset Point of Contact. Revision History First release: 12/28/2020 Revision 2: 11/2022 Revision 3: 7/2025

The California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program (GAMA) is a statewide assessment of groundwater quality designed to help better understand and identify risks to groundwater resources. GAMA is implemented by the California State Water Resources Control Board. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the technical lead for the Priority Basin Project (PBP), one of the components of the GAMA Program. Starting in 2012, GAMA began an assessment of water resources in domestic-supply (shallow) aquifers in California. These aquifers provide water for domestic and small community-supply wells, which are often drilled to shallower depths in the groundwater system than public-supply wells. Domestic-supply aquifers are of interest because shallow groundwater may respond more quickly and be more susceptible to contamination from human activities at the land surface, than the deeper aquifers (USGS, 2018). To prioritize domestic-supply aquifers, California was divided into 938 groundwater units consisting of California Department of Water Resources (DWR) groundwater basins and highland areas outside of the basins defined by California Groundwater Units (Johnson and Belitz, 2014) or Hydrologic Units (HUC8) from the Watershed Boundary Dataset (USGS and USDA, 2013). The groundwater units were prioritized for sampling based on the number and density of households relying on domestic wells, water-use, and well-location information compiled from well-completion reports submitted to the DWR. The groundwater units were grouped into study units designed to facilitate comparison of groundwater quality between the shallow aquifer systems and the deep aquifer systems assessed by GAMA from 2004 to 2012 (Bennett, 2018). The study units (and study areas when applicable) were divided into equal area polygons (cells) so that all cells within a given study unit (or study area) have an equal area. These grid cells can be found in the GAMA_PBP_SAA_GridCells shapefile included in this Data Release. Version Notes: This Data Release supersedes the data release published in 2020 (version 1). This data release was updated to include study units sampled since the initial publication. Also, report references for all version 1 study units have been updated to reflect the most recent publications for each study unit. In addition, study unit names were updated to be listed as the full name instead of the study unit abbreviations used in version 1. Minor revisions were also made to the metadata text. The version 1 data release may be obtained by contacting the dataset Point of Contact.

The California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program (GAMA) is a statewide, comprehensive assessment of groundwater quality designed to help better understand and identify risks to groundwater resources. GAMA is being implemented by the California State Water Resources Control Board. The USGS is the technical lead for the Priority Basin Project (PBP), one of the components of the GAMA Program. The initial focus of the GAMA Priority Basin Project in 2004 to 2012 was on assessment of water-quality in groundwater resources used for public drinking water supply (Belitz and others, 2003; 2015). Groundwater basins and sub-basins (472 in total) were prioritized based upon a number of factors (Belitz and others 2003). Two hundred and twenty-seven of these basins and additional areas outside of basins were subsequently grouped into 35 study units comprising 87 Study Areas. The basin and sub-basin boundaries, local geology, local knowledge, and watershed data were used to define the Study Areas. The Study Areas each were divided into equal-area grid cells collectively referred as a "study area grid". The number and size of cells generated for each Study Area was based upon the size of the area being sampled, and the number of public-supply wells available to sample. Three Study Areas contained an insufficient number of public-supply wells for division into a study area grid and were instead directly sampled. The number of cells in a study area grid ranged from 7 to 122 (median 20), and the size of the cells ranged from 4 to 471 km2 (median 25 km2). Additional information about the design of individual study area grids can be found in the reports listed below. The 87 Study Areas are collected and assembled here into one GIS dataset.

The U.S. Geological Survey collected water-quality samples from 3,199 sites between May 2004 and April 2022 for the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP). The GAMA-PBP is a cooperative project with the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The primary objectives of the GAMA-PBP are: (1) to assess the quality of groundwater resources used for public and domestic drinking water supplies, (2) to develop understanding of the natural and anthropogenic processes controlling groundwater quality and changes in groundwater quality, and (3) to improve the availability and usefulness of groundwater quality information to public. This data release publishes site type information and a generalized use category for the sites. The dataset comprises 3,053 wells, 81 springs, and 65 other types of sites. The generalized use category is partially derived from, but is not equivalent to, the use of site and use of water fields from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) data archive. Of the 2,903 wells and springs from which water is withdrawn for use, 1,651 are classified as production (includes sites used for public, commercial, industrial, institutional, and desalination water supplies), 973 as domestic, 264 as irrigation, and 15 as other water supply uses. Of the remaining sites, 225 are classified as observation wells, 6 are wells and springs from which water is withdrawn and not used, 63 are distribution system taps, and 2 are other types of sites. GAMA-PBP data are also served to the public through the SWRCB's GAMA Groundwater Information System (GAMAGIS), along with data from other federal, state, and local agency sources, and the generalized use categories in this data release are compatible with the use categories in SWRCB GAMAGIS. Prior to publication of this data release, SWRCB GAMAGIS classified all GAMA-PBP sites as "municipal", which resulted in erroneous characterization of approximately half of the sites. The generalized classification provided in this data release greatly improves the accuracy of site characterization, while still complying with Federal policies concerning release of location information for some types of sites. Version 1.0 posted September 29, 2021 Version 2.0 posted August 31, 2022 Changes in Version 2.0 1) A total of 143 sites were added to the data release. Seventy-one (71) sites were sampled for the first time by the GAMA-PBP between July 2021 and April 2022 after publication of Version 1.0 of this data release. Seventy-two (72) sites were sampled prior to publication of Version 1.0, but were inadvertently omitted. 2) A new Site_Type, DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, was added, and a process step was added to describe how and why it is used. Of the 72 sites omitted from Version 1.0, 63 were distribution system sites sampled in 2012-2013. 3) The GAMAIDs for two sites were corrected. Site 342959117133002 is S8-MOBSU-U09 (given as S8-MOBSU-U10 in Version 1.0), and Site 342959117133003 is S8-MOBSU-U10 (given as S8-MOBSU-U09 in Version 1.0) 4) A second GAMAID was added to seven WELL sites that were also sampled as DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM sites under a different GAMAID but the same USGS Site_Number (363700121500001, 365425121452201, 354000120410001, 354501120413301,354911120452701, 360600121000001, 361631121112001) 5) The USE_CATEGORY for 8 sites was changed for consistency with how use of those sites is described elsewhere. Three natural springs and one unused well were changed from the category OTHER to the category OBSERVATION (413600122240001, 383548122360601, 382925122294901, 373738119045501). Four wells were changed from category WATER SUPPLY, OTHER (364800118110001, 382307122311301) or category OBSERVATION (382702122423701, 365000120450001) to category PRODUCTION to reflect that the sites are standby or not currently in use but when the water is used, the use is in the PRODUCTION category. 6) References were added to the process steps

The U.S. Geological Survey collected water-quality samples from 3,359 sites between May 2004 and November 2024 for the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP). The GAMA-PBP is a cooperative project with the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The primary objectives of the GAMA-PBP are: (1) to assess the quality of groundwater resources used for public and domestic drinking water supplies, (2) to develop understanding of the natural and anthropogenic processes controlling groundwater quality and changes in groundwater quality, and (3) to improve the availability and usefulness of groundwater quality information to public. This data release publishes site type information and a generalized use category for the sites. The dataset comprises 3,213 wells, 81 springs, and 65 other types of sites. The generalized use category is partially derived from, but is not equivalent to, the use of site and use of water fields from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) data archive. Of the 3,063 wells and springs from which water is withdrawn for use, 1,696 are classified as production (includes sites used for public, commercial, industrial, institutional, and desalination water supplies), 1,123 as domestic, 263 as irrigation, and 16 as other water supply uses. Of the remaining sites, 229 are classified as observation wells, 6 are wells and springs from which water is withdrawn and not used, 63 are distribution system taps, and 4 are other types of sites. GAMA-PBP data are also served to the public through the SWRCB's GAMA Groundwater Information System (GAMAGIS), along with data from other federal, state, and local agency sources, and the generalized use categories in this data release are compatible with the use categories in SWRCB GAMAGIS. Prior to publication of this data release, SWRCB GAMAGIS classified all GAMA-PBP sites as "municipal", which resulted in erroneous characterization of approximately half of the sites. The generalized classification provided in this data release greatly improves the accuracy of site characterization, while still complying with Federal policies concerning release of location information for some types of sites. Version 1.0 posted September 29, 2021 Version 2.0 posted September 2, 2022 Version 3.0 posted October 25, 2023 Version 4.0 posted April, 2025

,Groundwater quality data and related groundwater well information available on the page was queried from the GAMA Groundwater information system (**[GAMA GIS](https://gamagroundwater.waterboards.ca.gov/gama/datadownload)**). Data provided represent a collection of groundwater quality results from various federal, state, and local groundwater sources. Results have been filtered to only represent untreated sampling results for the purpose of characterizing ambient conditions. Data have been standardized across multiple data sets including chemical names and units. Standardization has not been performed for chemical result modifier and others (although we are working currently to standardize most fields). Chemicals that have been standardized are included in the data sets. Therefore, other chemicals have been analyzed for but are not included in GAMA downloads. Groundwater samples have been collected from well types including domestic, irrigation, monitoring, municipal. Wells that cannot accurately be attributed to a category are labeled as "water supply, other". For additional information regarding the GAMA GIS data system please reference our **[factsheet](https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/publications_forms/publications/factsheets/docs/gama_gis_factsheet.pdf)**.,