Ground Water Information Center | MBMG Data Center
Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology
Montana Technological University
1300 West Park Street - Natural Resources Building Room 329
Butte Montana 59701-8997
Ph: (406) 496-4336 Fx: (406) 496-4343
3/28/2024
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The following tables summarize survey responses received by GWIC during October 2004.

To view the responses for an individual customer group, click on their hyperlinked customer type. To redisplay all groups, click Show All.

Economic benefit is calculated using 2004 monthly average of 4,200 sessions per month. (2002 survey used the average figure of 3,100 session per month)



Customer Types
Customer Type Surveys % Chart
Commercial 3 1 %
Consultant 29 11 %
Driller 11 4 %
Education (Student) 9 3 %
Education (Teacher) 2 1 %
Government (County) 8 3 %
Government (State) 27 10 %
Government (Federal) 9 3 %
Industrial 1 0 %
NRIS 0 0 %  
Public/Landowner 6 2 %
Realtor 24 9 %
Surveyor 3 1 %
Other 142 52 %
Show All 274 100%  

 

1. In the past year how often have you used the GWIC website?
Response Chart Count %
1-4 times 39 15.23%
Monthly 56 21.88%
Weekly 72 28.13%
2-4 times a week 53 20.70%
Daily 36 14.06%
Total Responses   256 100.00%
Did Not Respond   18  

2. How often does the website meet your needs?
Response Chart Count %
None of the time 1 0.39%
Some of the time 12 4.69%
Average 28 10.94%
Often 170 66.41%
Always 45 17.58%
Total Responses   256 100.00%
Did Not Respond   18  

3. How easy is the website to use?
Response Chart Count %
Very Hard 3 1.16%
Medium Hard 10 3.88%
Medium Easy 110 42.64%
Very Easy 135 52.33%
Total Responses   258 100.00%
Did Not Respond   16  

4. How do you value our website service?
Response Chart Count %
No value   0 0.00%
Little value 4 1.55%
Moderate value 13 5.04%
Significant value 114 44.19%
Critical value 127 49.22%
Total Responses   258 100.00%
Did Not Respond   16  

5. How would the loss of GWIC service impact you?
Response Chart Count %
No impact 2 0.79%
Little impact 5 1.98%
Moderate impact 26 10.28%
Significant impact 102 40.32%
Critical impact 118 46.64%
Total Responses   253 100.00%
Did Not Respond   21  

6. How important is is that GWIC contains current data?
Response Chart Count %
No importance 1 0.39%
Little importance 2 0.78%
Moderate importance 16 6.23%
Significant importance 110 42.80%
Critical importance 128 49.81%
Total Responses   257 100.00%
Did Not Respond   17  

7. How useful are GWIC data in determing drilling depths?
Response Chart Count %
Never 2 0.93%
Rarely 3 1.40%
Generally 50 23.26%
Often 120 55.81%
Always 40 18.60%
Total Responses   215 100.00%
Did Not Respond   59  

8. How useful are GWIC data in completing property sales?
Response Chart Count %
Never 10 8.77%
Rarely 10 8.77%
Generally 32 28.07%
Often 51 44.74%
Always 11 9.65%
Total Responses   114 100.00%
Did Not Respond   160  

9. How useful are GWIC data in dealing with land subdivision issues?
Response Chart Count %
Never 6 3.97%
Rarely 15 9.93%
Generally 26 17.22%
Often 62 41.06%
Always 42 27.81%
Total Responses   151 100.00%
Did Not Respond   123  

10. How useful are GWIC data in completing your ground-water research?
Response Chart Count %
Never 1 0.44%
Rarely 4 1.77%
Generally 33 14.60%
Often 107 47.35%
Always 81 35.84%
Total Responses   226 100.00%
Did Not Respond   48  

11. If you make ground-water management decisions, how often does access to GWIC improve your decision making?
Response Chart Count %
Never   0 0.00%
Rarely 9 7.83%
Generally 23 20.00%
Often 54 46.96%
Always 29 25.22%
Total Responses   115 100.00%
Did Not Respond   159  

12. If you make ground-water development decisions, how often does access to GWIC improve your decision making?
Response Chart Count %
Never   0 0.00%
Rarely 7 5.51%
Generally 33 25.98%
Often 61 48.03%
Always 26 20.47%
Total Responses   127 100.00%
Did Not Respond   147  

13. If you make ground-water protection decisions, how often does access to GWIC improve your decision making?
Response Chart Count %
Never 2 1.64%
Rarely 6 4.92%
Generally 23 18.85%
Often 57 46.72%
Always 34 27.87%
Total Responses   122 100.00%
Did Not Respond   152  

14. Does internet access to GWIC data save you money?
Response Chart Count %
Never 4 1.83%
Rarely 7 3.20%
Generally 35 15.98%
Often 53 24.20%
Always 120 54.79%
Total Responses   219 100.00%
Did Not Respond   55  

15. Is access to GWIC data worth the cost to the taxpayer to provide it?
Response Chart Count %
Never   0 0.00%
Rarely 4 1.75%
Generally 17 7.46%
Often 41 17.98%
Always 166 72.81%
Total Responses   228 100.00%
Did Not Respond   46  

16. Each time you login, access to GWIC provides an economic benefit of...?
* ($ 198.11 / session )
Response Chart Count %
Less than $10 20 12.82%
Between $10 and $100 81 51.92%
Between $101 and $400 35 22.44%
Between $401 and $1000 11 7.05%
Greater than $1000 9 5.77%
Total Responses   156 100.00%
Did Not Respond   118  

* Economic benefit is calculated using a weighted average of responses given. Values assigned per catagory are: (<$10) = $5; ($10-$100) = $55; ($101-$400) = $250; ($401-$1000) = $700; (>$1000) = $1100.


17. How often do the Ground-Water Characterization Program and MBMG Projects data reports meet your needs?
Response Chart Count %
I do not use it 3 1.86%
Rarely meets 7 4.35%
Generally meets 51 31.68%
Often meets 77 47.83%
Always meets 23 14.29%
Total Responses   161 100.00%
Did Not Respond   113  

18. How often do the Ground-Water Characterization maps meet your needs?
Response Chart Count %
I do not use it 5 3.23%
Rarely meets 6 3.87%
Generally meets 54 34.84%
Often meets 69 44.52%
Always meets 21 13.55%
Total Responses   155 100.00%
Did Not Respond   119  

 

Comments

  • Imade no comment on economic benefit because the benefits are widespread. With out this resource being avaliable online , many state and/or county employees would be burdon with searching for these records. Also, land owners can better budjet thier projects with this information,and make decissions such as weather or not to purchase property. As a water well Contractor, I use the infor mation to bid drilling prjects aswell as deciding what tools to use.
  • Please work to require an adequate legal description (lot, block, COS# or parcel address on well logs. Major limitation to GWIC is the inability to associate many records to a particular parcel.
  • i would like to be able to limit my well search using 1/4 sections to eliminate wells not within certain 1/4 sections
  • I would like to see the well log # on the map to show which well is where.
  • Well locations are typically terrible and are not reliable. Well logs that were on file in Missoula water Rights Office were removed and seriously hindered my research in all areas of investigation. Well logs often contained info that could not be transferred to GWIC data base. Well log data base is noticibly incomplete. Often drillers do not file well completion forms for dry wells. DNRC Water Right files contain well logs that are not available elsewhere and should be incorporated into GWIC data base.
  • I use this when trying to research water rights. I find it quite useful. It would be a real loss if this site was not maintained. The center should be very proud of the quality of this web site
  • This site is very useful in the drilling industry. Helps to determine well depths for new land owner, also helps us out to get an idea of what we are getting into before we show up to the job site. In return I think that there is a fair amount of time saved bringing the proper materials and equiptment to the job. Also opens up more opertunity in areas that you have not drilled in, for the fact that you are able to give people information that they ask in areas that you may not be familiar with. All and all I feal that this site is very useful. Marty Wilson
  • I notice that the well locations are most often not in the right place. It is very important that the wells are located properly. I assume that this depends on the report submitted by the well drillers. Is there an overall map available by Sections depicting all of the wells in each section and with the GWIC # noted? This would greatly help.
  • this web site makes my business possible!
  • Keep up the good work, this is one of the best databases in State Government, and the most user friendly. Thanks
  • This site has become an invaluable resource and we depend on it daily. It has greatly decreased the amount of public service and information we have had to give to real estate agents. Along with the INRS site, we aslmost never have to to research for people.
  • Thank you for offering the data, the time savings alone are an asset as well as the valuble information provided by using this site.
  • It would be very helpful if the well drillers would give more complete information as to the well location such as the lot # and subdivision name. In populated areas it is often difficult to determine the well location, because the name on the well log is a contractor/builder or the original owner.
  • Loss of this website would complicate my job tremendously; please keep up the good work
  • Responded to survey last week. Am finding many well logs on file with DNRC in water right listings on microsfich hat are ont on file with MBMG. .
  • NO
  • no
  • You really should have the property address as well as the legal for the water rights, not just the legal and the mailing address of the owner
  • please ad road addresses to well locations
  • please ad road addresses to well locations
  • Keep up the good work!
  • It would really be helpful if a tract number or lot could be used to identify a specific piece of property, if that could be done by the well driller, etc.
  • Your data base is often the only reliable source of information on the ground water resources available. The lithologic logs, while limited due to the wide range of lithology terms employed by the drillers, are still very useful in assessing what aquifer is being used and how vulnerable that aquifer is to contamination. Also, your partnership with the NRIS program is a great example of how two agencies can work together to improve service to the end user (tax payers) without having a negitive impact on each programs identity and service. I think you should hammer this home with the legislature. Your cooperative effort with NRIS an exception to the examples of government un-coordination typically seen. Good job, keep up your effort.
  • I work for DNRC - Helena Regional Office and I update ownership etc on the wells, especially the North Hills CGWA. When I have pulled a specific well log, I would like to see that this is in the North Hills CGWA. This is for various reason, especially when I am updating-I put that comment in every time as I'm not sure it has been done.
  • Excellent site! Montana and the MBMG shows the way for other states. This site must provide taxpayers with millions of dollars in avoided costs and increases the likelyhood of success for risky projects.
  • I think its a great resource. Thank you!
  • We use the site to research well sites in the area we are drilling. This site is critical when estimating drilling depths and soil determinations to our customers/land owners.
  • I wish the data was more accurate. the lot ID is not on most of the well logs.
  • Please always inlcude the well elevation in the basic search and Excel-formatted out put whenever do mutiple-section or multiple well searches. Going back to the individual well summary or reports is very-very time consuming.
  • would like to get the DNRC/water right information/well logs on this site, there may be some data that the MBMG site does not include.
  • I am a real estate broker at Scott Western Realty. This site is one of the most useful and straightforward sites for helping buyers make a decision about buying any property that is not on city water and sewer. As we all know, this is becoming a very significant number of people in Montana. We hope you continue this great service!
  • I don't know the cost to the taxpayer or economic benefit per login, thus, no comment.
  • I would like to be able to search by aquifer. It seems you can search by every other parameter BUT aquifer!
  • Great Site.
  • Very valuable resource. Please continue to fund.
  • It would be nice to be able to enter a street address to find well logs for homes in that vicinity.
  • the web site is great. the information that is available is easy to use and the search methods are effective. i am disapointed in the lack of infromation in many areas. of course this can most likely be attributed to lack of logs, logs not completed, or very old wells that do not have logs.
  • I wish that the date in the site was more up to date. Many times we have to locate well data under a previous owners name.
  • Well log data is essential in my work. Without access to GWIC I would have to get information from the DNRC hard copy files. That effort is very time consuming and very often unproductive. I believe the efforts to update and add data to GWIC is an important and valuable task. Keep up the good work.
  • You guys are doing a great job and the information I gather and the information I send realtors after is invaluable. Keep up the great work, a lot of people would be at a loss without this site. Chris DNRC PS you could put the "El Ninny" and other cartoons on this site if you wanted to spice it up a bit :)
  • You allow Realtors an easy access to information that gives clients the data they need to make important decisions. I truly appreciate it.
  • The website saves me both time and money in my work.
  • I take measurements for your site.
  • It would be more than spectacular if you would add the "aquifer" column in the lithology search. When looking at lithology layers, it would be very helpful.
  • The more infromation on the web the better for resouce consulting.... keep it up. Not sure how to answer some of the questions however. economic value to me (thid question from the end) is probably in the 10 -$100 range if that is what is being asked. I have not had great luck in finding some of the map work I would like to see ... but I think this is me. thanks!
  • This site is impertant to realtors. I use it quite often.
  • Thanks for the good work.
  • Excellent work. It is a real cost savings, and very convenient.
  • Great site that is very helpful.
  • I would like to know that the location of the well I am searching for is correct on the map link that is provided with the well log. The property names on GWIC are not always up to date, which is a problem when trying to conduct groundwater research. Addresses cannot be used to locate a well and so you have to rely on the map link, which does not give you a good location for the well.
  • report information must be accurate. It often is inaccurate.
  • Need more data!!!
  • I believe this is a very valuable tool for all of real estate. Water and its components figure hugely in the economic development of the state. To eliminate this site would be detrimental and very far-reaching.
  • As a construction company your site helps us find important environmental data for land purchases, use and environmental protection. I would hate to lose such a vital resource at my finger tips. Thanks
  • This is an excellent site! I don't know how I would accumulate the data without this site or spending a lot of money and time (which I never have enough of). If the purpose of this survey is to determine whether to continue with the site or not, my vote is an unequivical YES -- KEEP IT!
  • I would like to be able to find information on wells and septics by simply typing the address of the current property rather than having to know the name the well or septic information was originally filed under.
  • As a local envinronmental health person this site is critical to our needs when permitting waste water treatment systems and back ground information for subdivision development.
  • Can't imagine doing any GW related work in Montana without GWIC....it is a huge asset to developers, consultants, and resource managers.
  • It would be helpful to have the drillers report legal description and physical address (whenever avail.), not just mailing address. Also would be extremely helpful to be able to search by current property owner. We greatly appreciate GWIC!
  • I like the additions you've made over the years - the links to topo maps, the search form and the report capabilities. All in all a well designed site where it is easy to obtain the information I need.
  • This is one of my most used data resources. Having this data on line is critical to me and saves me hours driving to retrieve it in conventional (paper) form. My vote to keep GWIC ON LINE!!!!
  • Great website! Must have!!
  • I have already taksn this survey!!!!!!!!!!

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