Open-file Report - 608
Assessment of Water Resources in the Salt Basin Region of New Mexico and Texas: Data Summary Report

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NM Tech) have compiled this Data Summary Report as the first phase deliverable within a cooperative agreement and under funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. This project is being conducted in coordination with the NM Interstate Stream Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The overall goal of the project is to assess the water resources in the Salt Basin region, which covers parts of southern New Mexico and westernmost Texas. In particular, this project aims to evaluate Salt Basin water availability by 1) filling data gaps, where there is currently little or no information about the groundwater system; 2) estimating the overall balance of water in the region including groundwater recharge, storage, evaporation, and pumping; 3) updating the current hydrologic model and hydrogeologic framework; and 4) running simulations in the revised model. These efforts will help assess the ability of the region to sustain current groundwater withdrawals in the Salt Basin with implications for future development in New Mexico.

This data compilation provides a summary of numerous previous works completed in the Salt Basin region, and a compilation of digital data describing the water resources. From this data compilation, the project team is evaluating data gaps and developing plans to fill these data gaps to the extent possible and within the available budget.

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