Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Description of piezometers installed in the middle Rio Grande basin area, 1997-99, central New Mexico

January 1, 2000

Since 1993, the Santa Fe Group 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 how ground-
water levels are changing over time. The U.S. Geological Survey, in
cooperation with the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer,
installed nine piezometers during 1998-99 at five sites in and near
the margin of the Middle Rio Grande Basin in central New
Mexico. In addition, the New Mexico Office of the State
Engineer installed another nine piezometers at three sites during
1997. These piezometers allow for collection of ground-water-level
data in areas for which little information is available. Most of
the piezometers were constructed of 2.5-inch-diameter flush-joint
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) schedule 80 casing with 10-foot stainless
steel screens; the shallow piezometer at the Tome site has a
40-foot screen, and the single piezometers at the Dome Road and
Phoenix Road sites have steel casing with welded joints and a
10- and a 20-foot screen, respectively. Steel casing with a
locking lid covers the uppermost 2 feet of the piezometer casing.
Drillers' logs and petrophysical logs were collected from the
deepest borehole at each site.

Publication Year 2000
Title Description of piezometers installed in the middle Rio Grande basin area, 1997-99, central New Mexico
DOI 10.3133/ofr00477
Authors J. R. Bartolino, D.R. Rankin
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 2000-477
Index ID ofr00477
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse