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Sunshine Valley Hydrogeology Study

figure
Location map of the study area in northern Taos County, New Mexico (inset).
(click for a larger version)

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) has recently completed a study on the hydrogeology of Sunshine Valley. The aquifer beneath Sunshine Valley consists of layers of sand, gravel, and lava flows. The groundwater in the aquifer is recharged by precipitation that falls on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The precipitation becomes groundwater that moves west from the mountains into the valley aquifer. Infiltration of streamflow and irrigation water also recharges the aquifer. This study has shown that it takes at least 60 years for groundwater to move from recharge areas, through the Sunshine Valley aquifer, to the springs in the Rio Grande and Red River gorges. The results are also in agreement with previous work that estimates that 1,000 to 3,000 acre-feet of water has been removed from storage in the aquifer since the 1980s. The loss of water in storage can be seen in groundwater levels, which have trended slowly downwards since the 1980s. The most likely causes for the loss of groundwater are increased diversion of surface water for irrigation combined with decreases in precipitation and streamflow, and increases in mean annual air temperature.

Funded by Healy Foundation, Aquifer Mapping Program and the Bureau of Geology.

For more information, please contact:
Geoff Rawling, Sr. Field Geologist

Results

  1. Rawling, Geoffrey; Kelley, Shari, 2020, Sunshine Valley Hydrogeology Study, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, Open-file Report 607, 68 pp.
  2. Sunshine Valley Hydrogeology Study, 2019, Aquifer Mapping Program Factsheet, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, 2pp.

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