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Water-Level Data for the Albuquerque Basin and Adjacent Areas, Central New Mexico, Period of Record Through September 30, 2019

Data Series 1129
Prepared in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1129

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Abstract

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. A 20-percent population increase in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22-percent population increase from 2000 to 2010 resulted in an increased demand for water in areas within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project.

An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. In 1983, this network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. As of 2019, the network consisted of 120 wells and piezometers. (A piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer, often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers screened at different depths.) The USGS, in cooperation with the ABCWUA, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, and Bernalillo County, measures water levels from the 120 wells and piezometers in the network; this report, prepared in cooperation with the ABCWUA, presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at those 120 sites through water year 2019 (October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019). Water levels that were collected from those discontinued wells in previous water years were published in previous USGS reports.

Suggested Citation

Beman, J.E., 2020, Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2019: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1129, 40 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1129.

ISSN: 2327-638X (online)

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Table of Contents

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Water-Level Data
  • Acknowledgments
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2019
Series title Data Series
Series number 1129
DOI 10.3133/ds1129
Year Published 2020
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) New Mexico Water Science Center
Description iii, 40 p.
Country United States
State New Mexico
City Albuquerque
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details