Three test wells were drilled west of Albuquerque; two are on the mesa west of the city, the third well is near the Rio Grande flood plain, west of the river. Test well 1, was drilled to a depth of 1,204 ft. Transmissivity of perforated intervals in the alluvial zone (980-1121 ft) ranged from 3.1 to 3.9 ft sq/day, and horizontal hydraulic conductivity from .02 to .03 ft/day. Vertical hydraulic conductivity of the semiconfining layer between the alluvial and volcanic zones is estimated to range from .00031 to .0031 ft/day. Transmissivity of the volcanic zone (1139-1179 ft) is about 81 ft sq/day, and horizontal hydraulic conductivity is about 2.0 ft/day. Dissolved-iron and manganese concentrations exceed recommended constituent limits for a public water supply. Vertical flow is upward; the potentiometric surface in the volcanic zone is about 2 ft higher than in the alluvial zone. Water levels are about 883 ft below land surface. Test well 2 was drilled to a depth of 1,828 ft below land surface with seven intervals open to the aquifer. During development, fine sand and silt entered the casing, filling it to a depth of 1,500 ft. The dissolved-cadmium concentration exceeds the maximum contaminant level and the dissolved-manganese concentration exceeds the recommended constituent limit for a public water supply. The vertical flow gradient is downward; the potentiometric surface in the middle and lower zones is about 17 ft lower than in the upper zones. Depth to water in the upper zone is about 767 below land surface and in the lower two zones the depth to water is about 784 ft below land surface. Test well 3 was drilled to a depth of 1,050 ft. Only the interval from 490 to 590 ft below land surface could be used to calculate transmissivity which was about 1,300 ft sq/day; horizontal hydraulic conductivity is about 13 ft/day. Quality of water is acceptable for a public water supply. Vertical flow is downward; the potentiometric surface in the deepest interval is about 7 ft lower than that in the uppermost zone. In the shallow interval from 350 to 590 ft below land surface, depth to water is about 24 ft below land surface. In the interval from 710 to 790 ft below land surface, depth to water is about 29 ft below land surface and in the interval from 870 to 1,050 ft below land surface, depth to water is 31 ft below land surface. (Author's abstract)
