Effects of drought in the Rio Grande basin: Chapter D in Drought in the Southwest, 1942-56

In headwater areas of the Rio Grande and its principal tributaries, variations in streamflow and in ground-water storage and discharge depend upon fluctuations in precipitation, with modifications by geologic factors and by the pattern of water development and use. In downstream areas the surfaceand ground-water resources are replenished not only by local precipitation but also by outflow from the headwaters areas; thus the effects of drought upon those water resources are complex and may be vague and indeterminate.