Hydrologic Trends

The Rio Grande is a vital water source for Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico. A model was developed to determine how Rio Grande streamflow could change in the future. Both streamflow timing and volume displayed substantial potential changes. However, streamflow timing was most affected, and runoff could arrive a month earlier than the historic average if temperatures continue to warm...

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) New Mexico Water Science Center (NM WSC), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA), and Bernalillo County (BERNCO), will measure and analyze...

The Tri-County Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS) “decision area” (the public lands and resources that are managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Sierra, Doña Ana, and Otero Counties) is a large (4,375 square miles) and varied landscape. The decision area contains both connected and closed surface-water and groundwater basins, some of which cross state and...

The Anderson Ranch Wetlands (AR Wetlands), located in Taos County, north-central New Mexico, may be at risk from changes in climate patterns, from shifts in available water supply, and from agricultural groundwater pumping adjacent to the wetlands. To help guide management decisions, the USGS is completing an initial hydrologic characterization of the wetlands.

In partnership with the USFWS Partner Program, the NMWSC has developed a network of piezometers and vegetation survey markers in order to assess groundwater levels and vegetation species at a proposed wetland area on the New Mexico Boy's and Girl's Ranch near Las Nutrias, NM. This proposed wetland area is intended to be maintained as both a flyway habitat for migratory birds, and as a training...

The Upper Rio Grande Basin (URGB) of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico was chosen as a focus area study (FAS) for the USGS National Water Census. The conjunctive use of water in the URGB takes place under a myriad of legal constraints including the Rio Grande Compact agreement between the States, an international treaty with Mexico, and several federal water projects. Development of...

Declining water levels and a history of high nitrate concentrations in groundwater near and on Cannon Air Force Base (CAFB) necessitated a more detailed assessment of groundwater flow directions than has been done in the past. Previous potentiometric-surface maps were sufficient for showing regional directions of groundwater flow, but more detailed seasonal (summer high-pumping and winter low...

On August 5, 2015, about three million gallons of water and sediment were released from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River. The New Mexico Environment Department, among other State, Tribal, and local entities in CO, NM, and UT, is concerned that metals associated with the water and sediment released from the Gold King Mine could have...

In the past, groundwater pumped from the Santa Fe Group aquifer system was the principal source of water for the Albuquerque metropolitan area of central New Mexico. The large quantity of groundwater pumping relative to recharge resulted in substantial drawdown in the aquifer system. In 2008 the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority began diverting water from the San Juan-Chama...

Historic and current groundwater data may be used to help guide water management in New Mexico. Groundwater levels measured by the USGS provide the public, State, and Federal agencies, and cooperators with reliable and impartial information.

Water resources in the Rio San Jose Basin are limited, and development for public supply, mining, agriculture, and commercial activities have the potential to affect the water availability and quality at a basin-wide scale. This study is designed to provide water-resource managers with better information to plan for potential effects of increased or shifting demands and changes of climatic...

Streamflow data are needed at many sites on a daily basis for forecasting flow extremes, making water-management decisions, assessing current water availability, managing water quality, and meeting legal requirements. These activities require streamflow information at a given location for a specified time. These needs generally are best satisfied by operating a station to produce a continuous...