PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources has added a new interactive observation wells map to website.

DENR Secretary Steve Pirner says the department's water rights program routinely collects data from 1,556 dedicated monitoring wells, which is crucial to making fact-based recommendations and decisions regarding water use from our aquifers.

Pirner says that most of the wells were constructed by DENR's geological survey program, but the department is making all ground water information available to everyone over the Internet.

Historical measurements going back more than 50 years for some wells are available by locating a measured well on an interactive map or by searching using other attributes such as aquifer, reading dates or location.

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