The Middle Rio Grande Basin in central New Mexico, extending from
Cochiti Lake on the north to San Acacia on the south, covers an area
of about 3,060 square miles. Ground-water withdrawals in the basin
are concentrated in and around the city of Albuquerque. Because of
rapid increases in population and associated ground-water pumpage,
a network of wells was established cooperatively by the City of
and the U.S. Geological Survey between April 1982 and September 1983
to monitor changes in ground-water levels throughout the basin.
Expansion of this network has been identified as an essential element
in plans to study the relation between surface water and ground water
in the basin. An inventory of existing wells in the Albuquerque
metropolitan area has brought together information on about 400 wells
that either are being monitored for water levels or would be good
candidates for monitoring. About 115 wells or well sites are proposed
as additions to the current 128-well ground-water-level monitoring
network for the Middle Rio Grande Basin. Despite the extensive network
that would be created by the addition of the proposed existing wells,
however, certain parts of the Albuquerque metropolitan area would remain
without adequate coverage areally and/or with depth in the Santa Fe
Group aquifer until the installation of the proposed new monitoring
wells.
