The Yuba River and Bear River Watersheds study unit (Yuba-Bear Watersheds) covers approximately 4,400 square kilometers on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Groundwater composes about 10 percent of overall water use in the region, but is the sole supply for many individual homes beyond the limits of public water supply infrastructure (Cosumnes, American, Bear, Yuba Integrated Regional Water Management Group, 2014).

Recent drought conditions highlighted the vulnerability of private wells to diminished groundwater supplies in the study area and many wells required deepening (California Department of Water Resources, 2014).