All other Western states make such records – known as well completion reports, or well logs, for short – open to the public, California does not.
Here, access to the documents is restricted. While some government agencies and researchers can view them, many scientists and the public at large cannot, a barrier many say reins in knowledge about groundwater supplies as the state struggles with one of the worst droughts in recorded history.
“We’re basically blindfolding ourselves,” said Laurel Firestone, co-director of the Community Water Center, a Visalia-based nonprofit, who argues that access to the records could help improve water quality. “If California is going to be serious about managing its groundwater, it can’t possibly do that without accessible and transparent data.”
“Folks are afraid, frankly, that as the general public goes out and looks at that well construction data, they start infringing upon and creating individual personal property risk,” said David Orth, general manager of the Kings River Conservation District, which promotes the efficient use of groundwater in the southern San Joaquin Valley. “What’s to preclude somebody from suing somebody because they’ve concluded that well construction creates a contamination plume or impacts indirectly the water supply of a neighboring well or community?”
Orth said his district already helps groundwater researchers obtain well logs for a variety of studies. “The question is: What additional public interest is served if we let the public have access to those things?” he said.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/06/6534974/as-drought-persists-frustration.html