Surface Water and Sediment Studies

Rio Grande Compact and Pecos River Commission

The upper Rio Hondo Basin occupies a drainage area of 585 square miles in south-central New Mexico and comprises three general hydrogeologic terranes: the higher elevation “Mountain Block,” the “Central Basin” piedmont area, and the lower elevation “Hondo Slope.”

The Mesilla Basin monitoring program was established in 1987 to document the hydrologic conditions of New Mexico’s southern-most, Rio Grande rift basin. The program’s data collection and reporting is conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies. Hydrologic data collected as part of the monitoring program provide valuable information to better...

A record-breaking rainstorm in Glenwood, New Mexico and the surrounding areas occurred in September, 2013 leading to widespread and destructive flooding and debris flows, including watersheds burned the previous year by the Whitewater-Baldy Complex wildfire. In the area of the Whitewater-Baldy burn scar, a highway was overtopped by flash flooding on Whitewater Creek. Many side canyon tributaries...

Debris flows are high-density slurries of water, rock fragments, soil, and mud that can have enormous destructive power. Wildfire can drastically increase the probability of debris flows in landscapes that have otherwise been stable. In 2010, the USGS developed the Cannon model to estimate postwildfire debris-flow probabilities and volumes in burned areas. In 2013, with the help of U.S. Forest...

Wildfire is a natural process in forest ecosystems, and occurs with varying frequencies and severities depending on landscape characteristics, climatic conditions, and the historical fire regime. Although attention often is focused on the potential damages from wildfire in the wildland-urban interface, wildfire also presents a threat to critical infrastructure including flood water conveyances and...

In the summer of 2011, the Las Conchas Fire burned 156,593 acres in the Jemez Mountains in northern NM including the upper watersheds of Frijoles and Capulin Canyons in Bandelier National Monument. The drastic removal of vegetation in the upper watersheds of these popular tourist destinations left them susceptible to dangerous and record breaking floods. As long as the threat of large post...

High levels of salinity in the Pecos River render it less useful for various purposes. It is believed that underground salt deposits in the Malaga area contribute to the increase in the salinity in the Pecos River as it flows through this area.

Accurate estimations of flood discharges at bridge or culvert sites is required to provide cost-effective design of that structure. Streamflow-gaging stations, for which flood data are available, are usually located in major perennial drainage basins that are not representative of sites where common bridge and culvert designs are needed. In 1942, the USGS, in cooperation with the New Mexico...

Estimates of the magnitude and frequency of peak discharges on unregulated streams at gaging stations or ungaged stream sites in the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico are necessary for flood hazard mapping.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Middle Rio Grande Basin Study was a 6-year effort (1995-2001) by the USGS and other agencies to improve the understanding of the hydrology, geology, and land-surface characteristics of the Middle Rio Grande Basin in order to provide the scientific information needed for water-resources management. The Santa Fe Group aquifer system is the main source of municipal...

The City of Albuquerque is in the process of implementing the Drinking Water Project, which is part of the Albuquerque Water Resources Management Strategy. As part of this strategy, the City will begin accepting delivery of imported San Juan-Chama water to supplement present municipal water supplies. The City of Albuquerque’s annual allotment of imported San Juan-Chama water is 48,200 acre-feet...