Publications

The City of Las Cruces is concerned about water quality in a reach of the Rio Grande that receives outfall from the City of Las Cruces wastewater-treatment plant. Water-quality samples were collected from the Rio Grande at Picacho Bridge near Las Cruces, New Mexico; from the sampling site at the City of Las Cruces wastewater-treatment plant; and from the Rio Grande at Calle del Norte...

For many years water management in the Roswell ground-water basin (Roswell Basin) and other declared basins in New Mexico has been the responsibility of the State of New Mexico. One of the water management issues requiring better quantification is the amount of deep percolation from applied irrigation water. Two adjacent fields, planted in alfalfa, were studied to determine deep...

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25 to 40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of Cenozoic deposits that encompass the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the Albuquerque Basin are obtained solely from ground-water resources. The population of the basin grew from 419,000 in 1980 to 563...

In response to increasing concern about the quality of irrigation drainage and its potential effects on fish, wildlife, and human health, the U.S. Department of the Interior began the National Irrigation Water Quality Program (NIWQP) to investigate these concerns at irrigation projects sponsored by the Department. The San Juan River area in northwestern New Mexico was one of the areas...

Surface-water and suspended-sediment inflow to and outflow from Nutria Reservoir No. 3 on the Zuni Indian Reservation, western New Mexico, were calculated. The period of study was March 3, 1994, to September 30, 1995. Total runoff into Nutria Reservoir No. 3 during the study period was 6,812 acre-feet. During the study period, 24,310 tons of suspended sediment was transported into

Water resources data for the 1997 water year for New Mexico consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality in wells and springs. This report contains discharge records for 171 gaging stations; stage and contents for 27 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 46 gaging stations...

Since 1993, the aquifer system in the Middle Rio Grande Basin, and particularly in the Albuquerque area, has been the focus of studies to further define the extent of the most productive parts of the aquifer and to gain a better understanding of ground-water/surface-water interactions. Twenty-one piezometers were installed during January and February 1997 at five sites in the Duranes...

Like many areas of the southwestern United States, the Zuni Indian Reservation, New Mexico, has high rates of erosion, ranging from 95 to greater than 1,430 cubic meters per square kilometer per year. Erosion on the Zuni Indian Reservation includes channel erosion (arroyo incision and channel widening) and hillslope (sheetwash) erosion. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a 3-year (1992...

This report documents the application of nonlinear-regression methods to a numerical model of ground-water flow in the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico. In the Albuquerque Basin, ground water is the primary source for most water uses. Ground-water withdrawal has steadily increased since the 1940's, resulting in large declines in water levels in the Albuquerque area. A ground-water flow...

Fish communities at 10 sites in the Rio Grande Basin were sampled during low-flow periods between 1993 and 1995 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. The ecology of fish communities is one of several lines of evidence used to characterize water-quality conditions. This report describes the fish communities at selected sites in the Rio Grande...

The occurrence and distribution of contaminants in aquatic systems are major components of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Bed-sediment samples were collected at 18 sites in the Rio Grande Valley study unit between September 1992 and March 1993 to characterize the geographic distribution of organic compounds, including chlorinated insecticides, polychlorinated

A study was conducted to determine the relative influence of mountain-front infiltration in the Ryan Flat subbasin and to determine whether recent recharge (post-1940), which is of importance to water-use planning, has reached the Salt Basin aquifer, Trans-Pecos Texas. The alluvial and volcanic Salt Basin aquifer lies within a bolson, and the average depth to water in most of the...