Silver City, NM
October 21, 2019
Bureau Deputy Director and Manager for the Geologic Mapping Program Dr. Michael Timmons and Senior Field Geologist Daniel Koning presented at the State Legislature’s Interim Committee on Water and Natural Resources meeting in Silver City, New Mexico on October 17. They discussed ongoing mapping projects in New Mexico under the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping-STATEMAP Program, and how the data generated through geologic mapping supports decision making. The geologic mapping program informs mineral and resource evaluation, water assessments, city planning, hydrologic modeling and assessment of geologic hazards across the state.
The Bureau scientists demonstrated how geologic mapping can support natural resource decision making by presenting the results of the recent Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) mapping project in the Albuquerque Basin (Open-file Report 605). MAR is the intentional recharge and storage of water in an aquifer for subsequent recovery by pumping or for environmental benefit. The project mapped the basin structure and sediments, and investigated subsurface geology to develop a map that establishes the areas in the basin best suited for aquifer recharge. The presentation demonstrated how geologic research supports policy, planning, and resource-related programs in New Mexico.