Overview of the Groundwater Hydrology of the Rio Grande Basin

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asins and 2 to 10 feet per day in the closeddrainage basins, except where field dataindicate otherwise. Simulate fine-grainedplaya or lake deposits as having a hydraulicconductivity of 0.25 to 10 feet per day andflood-plain alluvial deposits as having ahydraulic conductivity of 50 to 70 feet perday.4. Do not vary horizontal hydraulic conductivityas a function of depth unless specific lithologiesare being simulated. Compaction of theaquifer and increases in temperature withdepth need not be simulated as affecting theapparent hydraulic conductivity (or flowpaths), except where these specific problemsare being addressed. The two factors haveopposite, and potentially offsetting, effects.5. Use a horizontal to vertical hydraulic-conductivityratio of from 200:1 to 1,000:1 exceptwhere geologic features such as faults, claysequences, or steeply dipping beds exist.6. Simulate aquifer specific storage to be in therange of 2 x 10 -6 to 5 X 10 -6 per foot, andspecific yield in the range of 0.10 to 0.20.7. Include rivers and drains, if present, in thesimulations as head-dependent-flux boundaries,preferably with flow routing to allowthe location of the boundary to change withtime.8. Include estimated mountain-front and tributaryrecharge, evapotranspiration, and netirrigation flux.9. Include historical groundwater withdrawals.To this list we might add that short- and longtermclimatic changes can have significantimpacts on all water resources (Hawley 1993;Hawley et al. 2000). The region has experienced aprolonged drought from the early 1950s until thelate 1970s. The following two decades were veryabnormally wet. During those two decades thepopulation and dependence on groundwater hasgrown enormously. The laissez faire attitude ofthe 1950s must, and will, be replaced by a proactiveapproach to overall water resourcesmanagement.We have learned a lot about the geology andhydrology of the Rio Grande Rift during the lastdecade. But, we cannot take too much pride in ourrecent accomplishments or our modeling prowess.We are busy building the knowledge base, but thesolid foundation was laid many years ago by truepioneers in science.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSOur work in the Rio Grande Basin region hasbeen supported primarily by the New MexicoBureau of Mines and Mineral Resources at NewMexico Tech, the U.S. Geological Survey - WaterResources Division, the New Mexico Office of theState Engineer, the City of Albuquerque-PublicWorks Department, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,the New Mexico Water Resources ResearchInstitute at New Mexico State University, and theNew Mexico Interstate Stream Commission.Interpretations presented in this paper, however,are solely our own. Assistance in preparation offigures and tables by Cindie Salisbury, Rita Case,and Michelle Ford Del Rio, technical reviews byBobby Creel and John Kennedy, and editorialreview by Cathy Ortega Klett are greatly appreciated.The Rio GrandeCompact:It’s the Law!Overviewof theHydrogeologyandGeohydrologyof theNorthern RioGrande Basin -Colorado,New Mexico,andTexasWRRIConferenceProceedings199918
REFERENCESAnderholm, S.K. 1994. Ground-water rechargenear Santa Fe, north-central New Mexico. U.S.Geological Survey Water Resources InvestigationsReport 94-4078. 68 p.Balleau, W.P. 1999. Groundwater modeling in thelower Rio Grande. In Proceedings of the 43rdAnnual New Mexico Water Conference: WaterChallenges on the Lower Rio Grande. Edited byC.T. Ortega Klett. New Mexico Water ResourcesResearch Institute Report No.310. 46-38.Bartolino, J. R. (editor). 1999. U.S. GeologicalSurvey Middle Rio Grande Basin Study–Proceedings of the Third Annual Workshop,Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 24 - 25,1999. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report99-203, 95 p.Bauer, P.W., B.S. Kues, N.W. Dunbar, K.E.Karlstrom, and B. Harrison. (editors). 1995.Geology of the Santa Fe region, New Mexico.New Mexico Geological Society, 46 th AnnualField Conference Guidebook. 238p.Bedinger, M.S., K.A. Sargent, and W.H. Langer.1989. Studies of Geology and Hydrology in theBasin and Range Province, Southwestern UnitedStates, for Isolation of High-level RadioactiveWaste: Characterization of the Rio GrandeRegion, New Mexico and Texas. U.S. GeologicalSurvey Professional Paper 1370-C. 42 p.Bjorklund, L. J. and B. W. Maxwell. 1961.Availability of ground water in the Albuquerquearea, Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties, NewMexico. New Mexico State Engineer TechnicalReport 21, 117 p.Brister, B.S. and R.R. Gries. 1994. Tertiarystratigraphy and tectonic development of theAlamosa basin (northern San Luis Basin),Colorado. In Basins of the Rio Grande rift—Structure, stratigraphy, and tectonic setting.Edited by G.R. Keller and S.M. Cather. GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 291. 39-58Bryan, K. 1938. Geology and ground-waterconditions of the Rio Grande depression inColorado and New Mexico. In The Rio GrandeJoint Investigation in the Upper Rio GrandeBasin in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.National Resources Committee, Washington,D.C., Regional Planning, Part 6, U.S.Government Printing Office. p. 196-225.Bryan, K. and F.T. McCann. 1937. The Ceja delRio Puerco--a border feature of the Basin andRange province in New Mexico, Part I, stratigraphyand structure. Journal of Geology. 45: 8:801-828.Bryan, K. and F.T. McCann.1938. The Ceja delRio Puerco: a border feature of the Basin andRange province in New Mexico, Part II, geomorphology.Journal of Geology. 46: 1: 1-16.Chapin, C.E. and S.M. Cather. 1994. Tectonicsetting of the axial basins of the northern andcentral Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico. In Basinsof the Rio Grande Rift: Structure, stratigraphy,and tectonic setting. Edited by G.R. Keller andS.M. Cather. Geological Society of AmericaSpecial Paper 291. 5-25.Cliett, T. 1969. Groundwater occurrence of the ElPaso area and its related geology: New MexicoGeological Society, 20 th Annual Field ConferenceGuidebook. 209-214.Cliett, T. and J.W. Hawley. 1996. Generalgeology and groundwater occurrence in the ElPaso area. In Proceedings of the 40th AnnualNew Mexico Water Conference, Reaching theLimits: Stretching the Resources of the LowerRio Grande. Edited by C.T. Ortega Klett. NewMexico Water Resources Research InstituteReport No. 297. 51-56.Collins, E.W. and S.A. Raney. 1991. Tertiaryand Quaternary structure and paleotectonics ofthe Hueco Basin, Trans-Pecos Texas andChihuahua, Mexico. The University of Texas atAustin, Bureau of Economic Geology, GeologicalCircular GC 91-2, 44 p.The Rio GrandeCompact:It’s the Law!Overviewof theHydrogeologyandGeohydrologyof theNorthern RioGrande Basin -Colorado,New Mexico,andTexasWRRIConferenceProceedings199919
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Overview of the Groundwater Hydrology of the Rio Grande Basin

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