Managed Aquifer Recharge Middle Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico

Managed Aquifer Recharge
in the
Middle Rio Grande Basin,
New Mexico
by
Stephanie J. Moore and Robert Marley
April 14, 2011
Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc.

Acknowledgements:
John M. Stomp, III, PE, Albuquerque
Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
Larry Webb,
City of Rio Rancho
Funding from State of New Mexico
Pioneers of MAR

Middle
Rio
Grande
Basin
Source: USGS

The “Lake Superior”
Myth
1935
1991
Source: USGS
2050

Groundwater level
declines,
1960s to 2000
(Bexfield and
Anderholm, 2002)

Elephant Butte Reservoir

ABCWUA Water Resources
Management Strategy
Policy C: Establish and maintain a ground-
water drought reserve (Policy C)
Recommendation: The City/Authority should
proceed to implement an aquifer storage and
recovery (ASR) program beginning with the
necessary pilot studies and permitting phase
such that the program can be implemented...

Ideal conditions for MAR...
so why no MAR projects?

MAR in New Mexico: Rules,
Regulations, and Permits
• Water rights issues
• 1999 Groundwater Storage and Recovery
Act (19.25.8 NMAC)
• Office of the State Engineer
• Water quality issues
• Discharge permits (20.6.2 NMAC)
• NM Environment Department Ground
Water Quality Bureau

MRGB Recharge
Projects
ABCWUA
Bear Canyon
Large Scale
Rio Rancho
Mariposa
Cabezon
Source: USGS

Artificial Recharge in NM
Basic
Info
OSE
NMED
ABCWUA
Rio Rancho
Bear Canyon Large Scale Mariposa Cabezon
Type of Recharge Infiltration Injection Infiltration Injection
Source Water Filtered SW Treated SW Reclaimed Reclaimed
Volume (ac-ft/yr) 3,000 20,000 700 1,000
Recharge Activities
Winter 2007-08
Winter 2008-09
None
None
None
Project Proposal Jan 2007* July 2010 May 2007 April 2007
Permit Application Sep 2007 -- Jun 2007 Nov 2008
USR Recharge Permit Jan 2008 -- Jan 2008 Jan 2009
USR Recovery Permit Feb 2011 -- -- --
Discharge Permit App Oct 2007 No DP In place Temp
DP Issued Nov 2008 Needed Yes --

Rio Rancho
Recharge Projects

Rio Rancho: Mariposa WRF

Mariposa Monitoring Network
• Heat dissipation sensors (A) - soilwater
retention characteristics and
vertical water movement (0-50 ft)
• Suction lysimeters, tensiometers,
temperature sensors (B) - water flux
rate estimates (100 to 150 ft)
C
B
A
• Neutron Logging Access (C) -
monitor movement of recharge
wetting front (0 to 460 ft)
• Monitor wells - collection of
groundwater level and quality data
(460 to 480 ft)

Reclamation Facilities Are
Supporting Reuse Applications
Non-Potable Reuse
Secondary
Treatment
Filtration
Surface
Infiltration
Advanced
Treatment
RO, AOP, GAC/BAC, UV
Direct
Injection

MBR-AOP
AOP-BAC Testing
Objectives
• Demonstrate Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) provide
excellent pathogen / solids removal.
• Use Advance Oxidation Process (AOP) to destroy
trace organics (endocrine disruptors/ pharmaceuticals /
personal care products), and chemically degrade EffOM.
• Use granular / biologically activated carbon
(GAC / BAC) to produce stable, finished water for aquifer
recharge by direct injection.

Rio Rancho:
Direct Injection at Cabezon

ABCWUA
Recharge Projects

Large Scale Recharge Project
Injection Well Design
Texas

Water Available for Recharge

Bear Canyon Recharge
Demonstration Project
• ABCWUA Project using imported water
Demonstrate effectiveness of artificial recharge of 3,000 AFY
through in-stream infiltration during winter months
Developed study design; installed monitor wells &
instrumentation to track the movement of water and changes
in water quality
Flux rates measured using temperature
profiles and heat dissipation sensors;
neutron logging to track infiltration front
Enabled client to establish a drought
reserve

Bear Canyon

Bear Canyon Recharge
Demonstration Project

New Mexico’s s First Artificial
Recharge Project
Bear Canyon
Arroyo Recharge
Demonstration

Why Bear Canyon Arroyo?
• Favorable hydrogeologic conditions
• Nearby & available source water
• Existing infrastructure
• Source water is compatible with
groundwater
• Ability to capture, store, and recover
recharged water

Favorable Hydrogeology
6,000 ft amsl
5,000
4,000
From Connell, 1997
3,000 From Connell, 1997

Discharge to Arroyo
• Max volume = 3,000 ac-ft
• Max recharge period = Oct through Mar
• Discharge rate: 2.8 to 5.6 mgd
Recharge Period
Applied Water 1 2
Begin Date 02/06/08 12/11/08
End Date 04/02/08 03/31/09
Duration (days) 57 111
Total volume discharged (gal) 137,913,535 240,216,626
Total volume discharged (acre-feet) 423 737
Average application rate (gpm) 2,400 2,400

Bear Canyon Recharge Demonstration Project

Multi-Component Monitoring
• Use groundwater wells to quantify mounding
• Calculate hourly infiltration rate in top 10 feet
• Track daily percolation and spreading in top 50
feet
• Track wetting front from 50 to 500 feet
• Study water chemistry using geochemical
tracers
• Model using hydrogeologic data from study

Monitoring Points
Monitoring wells (550 ft blw LS)
Water quality lysimeter nest (50, 100, 150 ft blw LS)
Vadose zone transect (3 completions 50 ft blw LS)
SW monitoring
Spain
Wyoming
Osuna

How much was recharged?
First Recharge Period
Total Volume
(ac-ft)
As
Percentage of
Volume
Released
Second Recharge Period
Total Volume
(ac-ft)
As
Percentage of
Volume
Released
Volume released 423 100 737 100
Evaporative loss 6.15 1.45 10.32 1.40
Vadose zone
storage
4.23 1.00 7.37 1.00
Recoverable 412.62 97.55 719.31 97.60
Total recoverable = 1,132 ac-ft
Permitted by OSE = 1,073 ac-ft

Aquifer vs. Surface Storage
1,200
Total Volume of Stored Wate r (acre-feet)
1,100
1,000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
Aquifer Storage
10% lost to
evaporation
15% lost to
evaporation
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
1,073 AF
549 AF
382 AF

Thank you!
Stephanie Moore and
Bob Marley