The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is formed at the confluence of the two major rivers that drain the Central Valley of California. The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and many interconnecting sloughs meandered back and forth across the tidelands, frequently overflowing their banks. Approximately 1 ,100 miles of levees were constructed to form about 60 tracts or islands that protect these lands from periodic flooding. The levees were constructed of sand, silt, and peat dredged from the channel bottom and are subject to erosion and failure. Owing to compaction, oxidation of the peat, and other related conditions, the islands are subsiding at rates of up to 0.25 ft/yr. The altitude of the land surface of the islands is often below sea level and below the surface water level in the channel. This condition causes stresses that may contribute to high groundwater levels and levee failure. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested that the U.S. Geological Survey install and maintain continuous recorders to monitor water levels in each of four wells. Monitoring which began in July 1983 also provided data to show the relation between surface water levels in the channel and groundwater levels in the wells. Dredging began in the area of the Rindge Tract site during the latter part of July 1983. Water levels in all four wells dropped 1.5 to 2 ft between September 1983 and September 1984 and continued to drop thorough December 1984. (Lantz-PTT)