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KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO ...

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<strong>BASE</strong>-WIDE PLAN<br />

3.1.3 Hydrogeology<br />

Deep Soils on Alluvial Fans, Mesas, and Piedmonts<br />

― Madurez-Wink Association, which consists of well-drained loamy soils<br />

― Tijeras-Embudo Association, which consists of well-drained loamy, gravelly soils<br />

Shallow to Deep Soils on Mountains and Foot Slopes<br />

― Seis-Orthids Association, consisting of loamy, stony, cobbly soils<br />

― Kolob-Rock Outcrop Association, consisting of loamy, stony soils and rock<br />

The groundwater system at Kirtland AFB and in the Albuquerque area lies within the Albuquerque-Belen<br />

Basin, which is also referred to as the Middle Rio Grande Basin. The basin is part of the Rio Grande<br />

Rift. As the Rio Grande Rift spread, the Albuquerque Basin filled with sediments several miles thick,<br />

most of which is referred to as the Santa Fe Group. The unit consists of unconsolidated sediments, which<br />

thin toward the basin boundary. Edges of the basin are marked by normal faults. Overlying the Santa Fe<br />

Group are the Pliocene Ortiz gravel and Rio Grande fluvial deposits (SNL, 2002).<br />

Generally, the upper unit of the Santa Fe Group contains the most productive portion of the regional<br />

aquifer that supplies groundwater to the city of Albuquerque and Kirtland AFB. The unit is<br />

characterized by piedmont slope, river, and flood plain deposits. The ancestral Rio Grande formed a<br />

large agradational plain in the central basin, depositing a mix of coarse- to fine-grained sands, silts, and<br />

clays with variable bed thickness (SNL, 2002).<br />

The groundwater investigations at Kirtland AFB indicate that there is a regional aquifer at a depth of<br />

approximately 500 ft below ground surface, and there are multiple shallow zones of perched water,<br />

which may not be continuous, present at approximately 300 to 400 ft below ground surface.<br />

The shallow system is defined as a saturated zone above the regional water table and separated from the<br />

regional aquifer by an unsaturated interval. This shallow groundwater system is present over an area that<br />

extends south to the Kirtland AFB Golf Course, north to SNL Tech Area I, to the west of Tech Area II,<br />

and to the east of LF-008 (SNL, 2002) as shown in Figure 3-4. Lithology and water chemistry<br />

information indicated that the perched aquifer might be comprised of smaller, more discontinuous sand<br />

channels, whereas the regional unit is a larger, more consistent sand layer. At LF-008, where five wells<br />

have been completed in the perched aquifer, the perched system consists of multiple zones of saturation<br />

and ranges up to a thickness of 125 ft. The thick zone of saturation is probably the result of recharge<br />

from the Tijeras Arroyo.<br />

Historically, water in the regional aquifer has flowed from the basin margins toward the Rio Grande.<br />

Currently, heavy pumping by Kirtland AFB and the city of Albuquerque has formed a depression,<br />

directing water toward the northwestern portion of the base. Flow directions observed within the<br />

regional aquifer at Kirtland AFB confirm these general flow directions. Water in the regional aquifer<br />

converges in the northwestern portion of the base between LTM sites LF-008 and the Sewage Lagoons.<br />

In the southern portion of the site, groundwater flows to the west from the Manzano uplift, and from the<br />

south into the central portion of the base. Groundwater flow directions at LTM program sites are shown<br />

on Plate 1.<br />

Kirtland Air Force Base<br />

Base-Wide Plans for the Environmental Restoration Program 17 April 2004

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