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New Mexico Water Science Center

Welcome to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website for the New Mexico Water Science Center; this is your direct link to water-resource information. This site provides data and information on New Mexico's rivers and streams, groundwater, water quality, and many other water-related topics.

 

News

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Future Peak Flow Along Rio Grande May Arrive Early Due to Climate Change

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Pesticides and their degradation products common in groundwater but at low concentrations unlikely to be human-health concern

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USGS Unveils Mobile Flood Tool for the Nation

Publications

Measuring basin-scale aquifer storage change and mapping specific yield in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, with repeat microgravity data

Study RegionThe groundwater basin underlying the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.Study FocusThe study focuses on changes in groundwater storage and how those changes relate to groundwater-level changes. Groundwater storage change was measured using repeat microgravity at 35 stations from 2016 to 2021. Usually, storage is monitored by converting groundwater-level changes to storage changes usi
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Jeffrey Kennedy, Meghan T. Bell

Development of an integrated hydrologic flow model of the Rio San Jose Basin and surrounding areas, New Mexico

The Rio San Jose Integrated Hydrologic Model (RSJIHM) was developed to provide a tool for analyzing the hydrologic system response to historical water use and potential changes in water supplies and demands in the Rio San Jose Basin. The study area encompasses about 6,300 square miles in west-central New Mexico and includes the communities of Grants, Bluewater, and San Rafael and three Native Amer
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Andre B. Ritchie, Shaleene B. Chavarria, Amy E. Galanter, Allison K. Flickinger, Andrew J. Robertson, Donald S. Sweetkind

Interim guidance for calibration checks on a submersible acoustic backscatter sediment sensor

Over the past two decades, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other agencies have pioneered the use of active acoustic sensors to monitor suspended-sediment concentrations and particle sizes in rivers and streams at the subdaily time scale. The LISST-ABS submersible acoustic backscatter sediment sensor (or “ABS sensor”) was developed by Sequoia Scientific, Inc., as an alternative to turbidity s
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Jason S. Alexander, Jonathan P. O'Connell, Jeb E. Brown

Science

Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Water Resources of New Mexico

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread anthropogenic chemicals that have been in use for the past 70 years. This class of compounds comprises thousands of chemicals including perfluorosulfonates (PFSAs) such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). As the use of these chemicals has grown so has their ubiquity in...
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Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Water Resources of New Mexico

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread anthropogenic chemicals that have been in use for the past 70 years. This class of compounds comprises thousands of chemicals including perfluorosulfonates (PFSAs) such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). As the use of these chemicals has grown so has their ubiquity in...
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Actionable Science

The Colorado River Basin Pilot Project is exploring new approaches for the USGS to answer complex earth systems questions identified in partnership with stakeholders, which cannot be answered through a single discipline approach. Science coproduction is a method where scientists, managers, policy makers, and other stakeholders first identify specific decisions to be informed by science, and then...
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Actionable Science

The Colorado River Basin Pilot Project is exploring new approaches for the USGS to answer complex earth systems questions identified in partnership with stakeholders, which cannot be answered through a single discipline approach. Science coproduction is a method where scientists, managers, policy makers, and other stakeholders first identify specific decisions to be informed by science, and then...
Learn More

Integrated Science Approach

The USGS has a long history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. The timing is critical for the USGS to consolidate its diverse expertise into a single landscape-scale effort to rapidly provide integrated transdisciplinary, targeted data, tools, and models required by decision makers in the Basin. This initiative unifies USGS expertise...
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Integrated Science Approach

The USGS has a long history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. The timing is critical for the USGS to consolidate its diverse expertise into a single landscape-scale effort to rapidly provide integrated transdisciplinary, targeted data, tools, and models required by decision makers in the Basin. This initiative unifies USGS expertise...
Learn More