Five-year interim report of the United States-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program: 2007--2012

Abstract

For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodTo order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. Executive SummaryTransboundary aquifers are an essential, and in many cases, singular source of water for United States -Mexico border communities, particularly in arid regions. Declining water levels, deteriorating water quality, and increasing use of groundwater resources by municipal, industrial, and agricultural water users on both sides of the international border have raised concerns about the long-term availability of this supply. Water quantity and quality are determining and limiting factors that ultimately control agriculture, future economic development, population growth, human health, and ecological conditions along the border. Knowledge about the extent, depletion rates, and quality of transboundary aquifers, however, is limited and, in some areas, completely absent. • Assess the extent, availability, and movement of water in transboundary aquifers and the interaction with surface water;• Develop and improve groundwater-flow information for binational aquifers to facilitate waterresource assessment and planning;• Analyze trends in groundwater quality, including salinity, nutrients, toxins, and pathogens; 2• Assess temporal and spatial variability of subsidence related to aquifer depletion;• Apply new data, models, and information to evaluate strategies to protect water quality and enhance supplies; and• Provide useful information to decision makers, including assessments of groundwater management institutions and policies.The Act states that not later than 5 years after the date of its enactment, and on completion of the program in fiscal year ( The Act specified the Hueco Bolson and Mesilla Basin as priority aquifers for New Mexico and Texas, and allowed for additional aquifers to be identified for these two States. Based on the increasing use of the aquifer, lack of information, and stakeholder input, activities have focused on the Mesilla Basin in the United States and its counterpart in Mexico-the Conejos-Médanos aquifer system. For Arizona, the Act limits study to the Santa Cruz and San Pedro aquifers in south-central Arizona and northern Sonora. Accomplishments of the program to date include • Binational research plans were developed in collaboration with State and local stakeholders to ensure the program meets user needs.• A U.S. -Mexico Joint Cooperative Agreement was developed to allow the sha...

Geochemical assessment of the Hueco Bolson, New Mexico and Texas, 2016–17

“…Many communities along the United States and Mexico border rely partially or completely on transboundary aquifers underlying parts of each country for drinking-water, agricultural, and industrial-water supply needs. Little geochemical information is available to help characterize this vital resource (Alley, 2013). Because surface water is scarce along the United States and Mexico border and typically fully appropriated, groundwater from transboundary aquifers is crucial for public supply (Alley, 2013).…”

“…Little geochemical information is available to help characterize this vital resource (Alley, 2013). Because surface water is scarce along the United States and Mexico border and typically fully appropriated, groundwater from transboundary aquifers is crucial for public supply (Alley, 2013). Among the unique challenges in assessing transboundary aquifers is the ability to provide useful information on the quality of usable water available to meet the diverse needs of residents along the border.…”