Estimated 2016 groundwater level and drawdown from predevelopment to 2016 in the Santa Fe Group Aquifer System in the Albuquerque Area, Central New Mexico

Abstract

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Hydrogeologic framework and delineation of transient areas contributing recharge and zones of contribution to selected wells in the upper Santa Fe Group aquifer, southeastern Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1900–2050

“…As a result of decreased pumping, water levels in southeastern Albuquerque began to rise in early 2009 ( fig. 8) and were still rising at the end of 2016 (Galanter and Curry, 2019).…”

“…The other two wells, JC-2 and JC-1, have 10-ft-long screens with the midpoints of the screens at 1,035 and 1,440 ft, respectively, below land surface (U.S. Geological Survey, 2015). Although other observation wells show water-level changes in southeastern Albuquerque (Galanter and Curry, 2019), the JC observation-well cluster was selected for comparison to simulated water levels because it is the closest observation well to the area of large simulated drawdowns caused by groundwater withdrawals (figs. 7 and 12).…”

Utilizing multiple hydrogeologic and anthropogenic indicators to understand zones of groundwater contribution to water-supply wells near Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico

“…This localized flow direction is interpreted to be the result of historical groundwater pumping in the region. Recent changes in water resource management have resulted in a decrease in groundwater withdrawals and an associated rapid decrease in groundwater gradient in the study area (Galanter and Curry, 2019).…”

Optimization assessment of a groundwater-level observation network in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico

“…Historically, the ABCWUA exclusively relied on groundwater from the Santa Fe Group aquifer system for municipal water supply, with groundwater withdrawals peaking at about 127,000 acre-feet per year in 1989 (Bexfield and Anderholm, 2002;ABCWUA, 2016;Galanter and Curry, 2019). Reductions of groundwater withdrawals began in 1990, despite continued population increases, because of conservation programs initiated by the ABCWUA and implemented by the citizens of Albuquerque (ABCWUA, 2016).…”

“…As part of the cooperative Middle Rio Grande Basin monitoring program between the ABCWUA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), groundwater levels are periodically T ij e r a s A r ro yo T ij e r a s A r ro yo measured at a network of wells and piezometers (hereafter called the observation network) . Groundwater levels measured in this observation network have been used to determine magnitudes and rates of groundwater-level change, calibrate groundwater flow models, map horizontal and vertical flow directions, and evaluate groundwater-level response to enhanced aquifer recharge efforts (Bexfield and Anderholm, 2002;Falk and others, 2011;Powell and McKean, 2014;Rice and others, 2014;Galanter and Curry, 2019). The desire to upgrade and perform maintenance on the observation network initiated an evaluation of options for reducing the data-collection expense of the current observation network while preserving its spatial and temporal accuracy.…”