thumbnail

Ground-water flow and shallow-aquifer properties in the Rio Grande inner valley south of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Water-Resources Investigations Report 87-4015
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/wri874015

Links

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the water table configuration and its temporal variations, estimate aquifer properties, and evaluate the interaction of groundwater and surface water in the inner valley of the Rio Grande in southern Albuquerque, New Mexico, where groundwater contamination is a continuing concern. The upper 150 ft of sedimentary deposits in the inner valley, mostly alluvium that consists of cobbles, gravel, sand, silt, and clay, was emphasized because of its susceptibility to contamination. A map of the water table on February 28, 1986 shows that flow generally is parallel to the river and the gradient is approximately 5 ft/mi or 0.0001. In areas affected by municipal and industrial groundwater withdrawals, declines may exceed 10 ft, and the water table gradient is as much as 20 ft/mi or 0.004. The gradient also is steeper near drains, particularly during the irrigation season. In the area east of the community of Mountainview the direction of water movement may have reversed between 1936 and 1986; flow near appears to be toward the east or southeast. Groups of four piezometers, each screened at a different depth, were monitored to describe seasonal changes of the water table. Vertical gradients between piezometers ranged from 0.014 upward to 0.047 downward from July 1985 to June 1986, but were downward most of the year, particulary during the irrigation season. The horizontal hydraulic conductivity of a 15-ft-thick clay and silt bed beneath Rio Bravo Boulevard is estimated to be 0.0001 ft/day. The average interstitial velocity down through this bed is estimated to range from about 0.0002 to 0.0005 ft/day. The fluctuations of the water table at the piezometers nearest the Rio Grande do not appear to be affected by the riverside drain. 

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Ground-water flow and shallow-aquifer properties in the Rio Grande inner valley south of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico
Series title Water-Resources Investigations Report
Series number 87-4015
DOI 10.3133/wri874015
Year Published 1987
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Description iv, 29 p.
Country United States
State New Mexico
County Bernalillo County
City Albuquerque
Other Geospatial Rio Grande Valley
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details