Flow Smart Archives - Sonoma County Groundwater Sustainability Agencies

Introducing the Flow Smart Program

The Flow Smart Program is a free, voluntary groundwater flow-metering initiative designed for well owners in the Petaluma Valley basin, Santa Rosa Plain subbasin and Sonoma Valley subbasin. Participants will receive grant-funded professional installation of a flow-metering device at no cost to them. This device allows well owners to accurately track their groundwater usage, empowering them to manage their resources effectively.

Why should you participate?

FREE Installation: Receive a professionally installed well meter at no cost (a cost savings of $4,500 to $6,000).
Enhanced Monitoring: Better understand and monitor your groundwater usage.
Improved Water Management: Identify leaks, track pump and well performance, and promote water conservation.
Economic Protection: Mitigate potential losses associated with dry wells, water shortages and rising energy costs.
Shared Responsibility: Participate in sustainable groundwater management for our community.
Confidential Data: All data collected will remain confidential. Aggregated data will be analyzed by local water managers to inform decisions about sustainability programs and projects.

To learn more about the Flow Smart Program, including FAQ’s and registration for the Flow Smart Program, please visit – https://sonomacountygroundwater.org/flow-smart/

Well Inventory and Groundwater Extraction Assessment in Sonoma Valley

The Sonoma Valley GSA conducted a Well Inventory and Groundwater Extraction assessment to obtain information on locations and volumes of groundwater extracted within the Subbasin. The completion of these assessments marks significant progress in filling data gaps to improve our understanding of the entire groundwater system.

Well Inventory

One important data gap for the Sonoma Valley basin is a thorough understanding of the number of wells, well locations, and well depths. Wells are the windows into our aquifer and the most direct way to gather information about the geology of the aquifer and to measure groundwater levels. Each well that is drilled has a respective “Well Completion Report.” The information in these reports describes the geology surrounding the well and the depth below the surface where water is first encountered. However, many of these reports pre-date computers, and may not have ever been digitized or geolocated.

Through a Well Inventory assessment conducted in 2024 to 2025, we found that Sonoma Valley has 2,355 wells, as seen in the photo above. These wells are subdivided by the intended use that was identified by the driller at the time of installation and includes 1,280 domestic wells, 36 industrial wells, 206 irrigation wells, 182 monitoring wells, 69 wells for other uses, 46 public supply wells, and 536 wells for unknown uses. By reviewing Well Completion Reports and adding the new information to our existing database, we improved our understanding about where groundwater extraction is occurring and historic groundwater levels, and identified wells that may be at risk to changes in groundwater levels.

This Well inventory represents an initial comprehensive compilation of well data. Additional refinement over time is recommended as additional data sources and tools become available, along with maintenance of the inventory to capture new well installations and destructions over time.

To learn more, read the full final report here.

Voluntary Flow-Metering Program

In addition to the location of groundwater extraction, it is critical for the GSA to understand how much groundwater is being extracted. Across the basin, the GSA relies on estimates of groundwater extraction at a parcel scale. The GSA’s Groundwater User Information Data Exchange (GUIDE) program allows groundwater users to provide corrections to these estimates which constantly improves the GSA’s understanding of groundwater extraction volumes. In addition, under the SGM Implementation grant funding, the GSA completed a voluntary flow-metering program for individual well owners to receive a free flow-meter (Flow Smart). This program provided flow-meters to 18 groundwater users in Sonoma Valley. Not only will these flow-meters provide valuable data to the GSA about groundwater extraction for various groundwater users, but it will also provide valuable information for well owners, such as well performance data, leak detection, etc. This groundwater use data, along with groundwater use data from the other Sonoma County GSAs will be used to improve groundwater use estimates across the basin.

To learn more, read the full final report here.

Well Inventory and Groundwater Extraction Assessment in Petaluma Valley

The Petaluma Valley GSA conducted a Well Inventory and Groundwater Extraction assessment to obtain information on locations and volumes of groundwater extracted within the Subbasin. The completion of these assessments marks significant progress in filling data gaps to improve our understanding of the entire groundwater system.

Well Inventory

One important data gap for the Petaluma Valley basin is a thorough understanding of the number of wells, well locations, and well depths. Wells are the windows into our aquifer and the most direct way to gather information about the geology of the aquifer and to measure groundwater levels. Each well that is drilled has a respective “Well Completion Report.” The information in these reports describes the geology surrounding the well and the depth below the surface where water is first encountered. However, many of these reports pre-date computers, and may not have ever been digitized or geolocated.

Through a Well Inventory assessment conducted in 2024 to 2025, we found that Petaluma Valley has 1,880 wells, as seen in the photo above. These wells are subdivided by the intended use that was identified by the driller at the time of installation and includes 920 domestic wells, 18 industrial wells, 95 irrigation wells, 451 monitoring wells, 49 wells for other uses, 58 public supply wells, and 289 wells for unknown uses. By reviewing Well Completion Reports and adding the new information to our existing database, we improved our understanding about where groundwater extraction is occurring and historic groundwater levels, and identified wells that may be at risk to changes in groundwater levels.

This Well inventory represents an initial comprehensive compilation of well data. Additional refinement over time is recommended as additional data sources and tools become available, along with maintenance of the inventory to capture new well installations and destructions over time.

To learn more, read the full final report here.

Voluntary Flow-Metering Program

In addition to the location of groundwater extraction, it is critical for the GSA to understand how much groundwater is being extracted. Across the basin, the GSA relies on estimates of groundwater extraction at a parcel scale. The GSA’s Groundwater User Information Data Exchange (GUIDE) program allows groundwater users to provide corrections to these estimates which constantly improves the GSA’s understanding of groundwater extraction volumes. In addition, under the SGM Implementation grant funding, the GSA completed a voluntary flow-metering program for individual well owners to receive a free flow-meter (Flow Smart). This program provided flow-meters to seven groundwater users. Not only will these flow-meters provide valuable data to the GSA about groundwater extraction for various groundwater users, but it will also provide valuable information for well owners, such as well performance data, leak detection, etc. This groundwater use data, along with groundwater use data from the other Sonoma County GSAs will be used to improve groundwater use estimates across the basin.

To learn more, read the full final report here.