Water Resources
Like many other states in the west, New Mexico is very arid. Water is a precious natural resource that has become increasingly scarce as the population increases. While political and legal considerations weigh heavily on how water is extracted and used, impartial science should play an important role in informing decision-makers. At the bureau, many of our basic research projects deal directly or indirectly with the need to understand the geologic context and dynamics of our states aquifers.
Aquifer Mapping Program
For the past 10 years, the Bureau’s staff has been engaged in hydrogeologic studies of New Mexico’s aquifers in cooperation with partners at the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer and the New Mexico Environment Department. Beginning in the mid-1990s with geologic mapping and aquifer analysis in the Albuquerque Basin and a hydrogeology study in Placitas, the Bureau has since developed an aquifer mapping program that applies a combination of geologic geophysical, hydrologic, and geochemical information to develop descriptive models of groundwater flow in important aquifers around the state.
The objective of our aquifer mapping program is to provide critically needed information on the “health” of the state’s groundwater resource. Baseline data gathered during the studies improve our understanding of the geologic framework of aquifers, their hydrologic characteristics, water levels in the aquifers and how they change over time, and the occurrence of natural contaminants such as arsenic and uranium that affect the potability of groundwater.
Aquifer studies range in scope from short-term local projects to long-term, regional studies engaging a variety of disciplines and collaborators. With support from the 2005 State Legislature in the form of a $300,000 one-year appropriation, the program has been able to complete some studies while continuing or starting others. Past efforts have completed or contributed to studies in the Albuquerque Basin, Placitas, Estancia Basin, and the Taos Valley. Results of a three-year study in the Española Basin are contributing to a collaborative effort by Santa Fe County and the City of Santa Fe to build a regional groundwater flow model to assist with resource administration and management. In 2005, a multi-year water-level monitoring study has continued in the Roswell artesian basin, while studies in Arroyo Hondo north of Taos and the Peñasco Valley were completed and new investigations initiated in the Sacramento Mountains east of Alamagordo and near Seven Rivers in the lower Pecos River valley. Results of these works are contributing to long-term aquifer monitoring networks and regional groundwater flow models, supporting water rights administration and local land-use decisions, and addressing rural water quality concerns.
Products & Benefits
Maps of the surface and subsurface:
- geologic maps
- geophysical maps
Hydrogeologic models of aquifers:
- depth-to-water and groundwater flow maps
- water quality maps
- descriptive models of groundwater flow
Planning tools:
- water availability in defined geographic areas
- objective, scientifically sound and usable map-based products
- utilized by state agencies (NMOSE/ISC, NMED, NMEMNRD, NMSLO), planners, developers, technical consultants, home owners/buyers, real estate agents, municipal/county officials
- support for an array of land-use decisions (active water management, water rights administration, land development, well placement, water system design, etc.)
Environmental Geology/Hydrology Staff
Peggy Johnson
Senior Hydrogeologist, Manager Aquifer Mapping Program
Bruce Allen
Field Geologist
Sean Connell
Field Geologist
Trevor Kludt
Geo-hydrological Laboratory Associate
Lewis Land
Hydrogeologist
Dave Love
Principal Environmental Geologist
Talon Newton
Hydrogeologist
Geoff Rawling
Field Geologist
Stacy Timmons
Senior Geologic Research Associate
New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources
New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
801 Leroy Place
Socorro, NM 87801-4796
information: (575) 835-5420
fax: (575) 835-6333
http://geoinfo.nmt.edu
The New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources is a research and service division of:
