Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Aquifer storage-change monitoring in Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico

Active
By Arizona Water Science Center April 28, 2021

USGS, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, began repeat microgravity measurements in 2015 to monitor aquifer-storage changes in the Albuquerque basin.

Repeat microgravity data are collected across a network of 31 relative- and absolute-gravity stations. Many of these are collocated with monitoring wells, including nested piezometers, that provide useful information about head changes at different depths in the aquifer. Surveys are carried out three times per year, and include GPS observations to monitor for changes in elevation (which is also monitored using extensometers).

Time series plot showing gravity-derived aquifer storage trend in Albuquerque, NM, 2016-2019
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Map showing magnitude of linear gravity trend at 25 stations in Albuquerque, NM, 2016-2019. Units are in meters of water using the horizontal-infinite slab approximation. Data are from “Repeat microgravity data from Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2016-2019 (ver. 2.0, September 2020)”. 

Repeat microgravity data from Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2016-2021 (ver. 3.0, March 2023)

This dataset represents the network-adjusted results of relative- and absolute-gravity surveys. Relative-gravity surveys were carried out using a Zero Length Spring, Inc. Burris relative-gravity meter. The effect of solid Earth tides and ocean loading were removed from the data. Instrument drift was removed by evaluating gravity change during repeated measurements at one or more base stations. Abs
By
Arizona Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center

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

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA), has developed a series of maps and associated reports to document changes in the groundwater level in the production zone of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area. The current map and associated report document the construction of contours representin
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2019

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
Authors
Joseph E. Beman
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Land subsidence and recovery in the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico, 1993–2014

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) drinking water supply was almost exclusively sourced from groundwater from within the Albuquerque Basin before 2008. In 2008, the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project (SJCDWP) provided surface-water resources to augment the groundwater supply, allowing for a reduction in groundwater pumping in the Albuquerque Basin. In 2013, the U
Authors
Jessica M. Driscoll, Justin T. Brandt
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority

USGS, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, began repeat microgravity measurements in 2015 to monitor aquifer-storage changes in the Albuquerque basin.

Repeat microgravity data are collected across a network of 31 relative- and absolute-gravity stations. Many of these are collocated with monitoring wells, including nested piezometers, that provide useful information about head changes at different depths in the aquifer. Surveys are carried out three times per year, and include GPS observations to monitor for changes in elevation (which is also monitored using extensometers).

Time series plot showing gravity-derived aquifer storage trend in Albuquerque, NM, 2016-2019
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Map showing magnitude of linear gravity trend at 25 stations in Albuquerque, NM, 2016-2019. Units are in meters of water using the horizontal-infinite slab approximation. Data are from “Repeat microgravity data from Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2016-2019 (ver. 2.0, September 2020)”. 

Repeat microgravity data from Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2016-2021 (ver. 3.0, March 2023)

This dataset represents the network-adjusted results of relative- and absolute-gravity surveys. Relative-gravity surveys were carried out using a Zero Length Spring, Inc. Burris relative-gravity meter. The effect of solid Earth tides and ocean loading were removed from the data. Instrument drift was removed by evaluating gravity change during repeated measurements at one or more base stations. Abs
By
Arizona Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center

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

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA), has developed a series of maps and associated reports to document changes in the groundwater level in the production zone of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area. The current map and associated report document the construction of contours representin
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2019

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
Authors
Joseph E. Beman
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Land subsidence and recovery in the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico, 1993–2014

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) drinking water supply was almost exclusively sourced from groundwater from within the Albuquerque Basin before 2008. In 2008, the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project (SJCDWP) provided surface-water resources to augment the groundwater supply, allowing for a reduction in groundwater pumping in the Albuquerque Basin. In 2013, the U
Authors
Jessica M. Driscoll, Justin T. Brandt
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority