Starting in mid-2023, Rebecca “Becky” Travis became the Water Quality Specialist for the USGS Colorado Water Science Center (WSC) in Lakewood, Colorado.

Becky started her USGS career in 2012 at the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana WSC as a physical scientist working on projects ranging from air quality monitoring at a combined disposal facility in East Chicago, Indiana, to groundwater-level monitoring for a network of wells in Carmel, Indiana. In 2016, she began work as a hydrologist at the New Mexico WSC where she has focused her efforts on studying anthropogenic contamination and studies in the designated Urban Waters area of Albuquerque, NM. These studies have involved innovative passive sampling of groundwater and surface water, sampling of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and analysis of geochemical and age dating tracers for groundwater. Prior to working for the USGS, she spent 11 years working on source water protection and remediation projects for Indiana Department of Environmental Management. She has a M.S. in Geological Sciences from Indiana University - Bloomington.

Professional Experience

2023-present: Water Quality Specialist, USGS, Colorado Water Science Center, Lakewood, Colorado
2016-2023: Hydrologist, USGS, New Mexico Water Science Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
2012-2016: Physical Scientist, USGS, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Indianapolis, Indiana
2001-2012: Environmental Manager, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indianapolis, Indiana

Education and Certifications

M.S. Geological Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, 2001
B.S. Geological Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, 1998

Science and Products

Publications
Science
Multimedia

Label

March 27, 2024

Assessing influence from wastewater treatment facilities on Glorieta Creek and the Pecos River within Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico, February–October 2022

The Pecos National Historical Park protects 2.9 miles of the Pecos River and part of Glorieta Creek within the park boundaries. Updated water-quality data can assist resource managers in determining if effluent from two nearby wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is affecting the quality of the water in the Pecos River and Glorieta Creek within the park. Water samples were collected four times in 2

Authors

K. Wilkins, K.R. Beisner, R.E. Travis

Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

March 15, 2024

Temporal variability and sources of PFAS in the Rio Grande, New Mexico through an arid urban area using multiple tracers and high-frequency sampling

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous in the environment but sources are not well defined for temporal and spatial aspects within an urban environment, and especially for an arid urban environment subject to seasonal short term high-intensity precipitation events. A focused diel sampling was conducted in the summer of 2021 to assess the temporal and spatial variability of PFAS

Authors

Kimberly R. Beisner, Rebecca E. Travis, David Alvarez, Larry B. Barber, Jacob Fleck, Jeramy Roland Jasmann

Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center

January 18, 2024

Assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water resources of New Mexico, 2020–21

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been detected in public and private drinking-water wells, springs, and surface waters in New Mexico; however, the presence and distribution of PFAS in water resources across the State are not well characterized. From August 2020 to October 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Mexico Environment Department, collected water-qua

Authors

Rebecca E. Travis, Kimberly R. Beisner, Kate Wilkins, Jeramy Roland Jasmann, Steffanie H. Keefe, Larry B. Barber

Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

March 24, 2023

Assessing Escherichia coli and microbial source tracking markers in the Rio Grande in the South Valley, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2020–21

The Rio Grande, in southern Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a Clean Water Act Section 303(d) Category 5 impaired reach for Escherichia coli (E. coli). The reach is 5 miles in length, extending from Tijeras Arroyo south to the Isleta Pueblo boundary. An evaluation of E. coli and microbial source tracking markers (human-, canine-, and waterfowl-specific sources) was conducted by the U.S. Geological Surv

Authors

Rebecca E. Travis, Kate Wilkins, Christopher M. Kephart

Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory

January 1, 2023

A comparison of water-quality and stormwater inflow and outflow during habitat restoration at the McEwen storm drainage pond, South Valley, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2020–22

In 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey began targeted monitoring, in partnership with Bernalillo County, at three locations within the McEwen storm drainage pond to evaluate and compare the water quality of stormwater as it enters and exits the study area, which is channelized and routes urban stormwater runoff through a wetland area. Stage in McEwen pond and precipitation at a nearby precipitation g

Authors

R.E. Travis, C.A. Van Zante, N.Y. Montero, K.E. Miltenberger

Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

May 27, 2022

Hydrogeology and groundwater quality in the San Agustin Basin, New Mexico, 1975–2019

This report describes the findings of a U.S. Geological Survey study, completed in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, focused on better understanding the present-day (1975–2019) hydrogeology and groundwater quality of the San Agustin Basin in west-central New Mexico to support sustainable groundwater resource management. The basin hosts a relatively undeveloped basin-fill and alluvium

Authors

Jeff D. Pepin, Rebecca E. Travis, Johanna M. Blake, Alex Rinehart, Daniel Koning

Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

October 4, 2021

Utilizing multiple hydrogeologic and anthropogenic indicators to understand zones of groundwater contribution to water-supply wells near Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico

In 1999, a jet-fuels release was discovered at the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Contaminants had reached the water table and migrated north-northeast toward water-supply wells. Monitoring wells were installed downgradient from the facility to determine the primary zones of groundwater production for water-supply wells and assess contaminant presence. The

Authors

Rebecca E. Travis, Meghan T. Bell, Benjamin S. Linhoff, Kimberly R. Beisner

Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

August 31, 2021

Comparison of passive and pumped sampling methods for analysis of groundwater quality, Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2019

A plume of ethylene dibromide (EDB) dissolved in groundwater extends northeast from the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The leading edge of the EDB plume is upgradient from several water-supply wells. In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and the U.S. Air Force, installed four sentinel w

Authors

Rebecca E. Travis, Kate Wilkins

Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

February 20, 2019

Hydraulic and water-quality indicators of aquifer zones contributing groundwater flow to wells in the Santa Fe Group aquifer system near southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2013–16

An ethylene dibromide (EDB) plume extends approximately 5,880 feet northeast from the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base. The leading edge of the EDB plume is about 3,700 feet upgradient from several water-supply wells. The water-supply wells are screened in the upper Santa Fe Group aquifer system. Within the upper Santa Fe Group, two primary clay-rich layers, the A1 and A2 units, sepa

Authors

R.E. Travis, Nathan C. Myers

Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

July 24, 2018

Geochemistry and microbiology of groundwater and solids from extraction and monitoring wells and their relation to well efficiency at a Federally operated confined disposal facility, East Chicago, Indiana

In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, the U.S. Geological Survey investigated the processes affecting water quality, geochemistry, and microbiology in representative extraction and monitoring wells at a confined disposal facility (CDF) in East Chicago, Indiana. The CDF is a 140-acre Federally-managed facility that was the former location of an oil refinery and is

Authors

Randall E. Bayless, Travis R. Cole, David C. Lampe, R.E. Travis, Marjorie S. Schulz, Paul M. Buszka

Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Label

Rebecca Travis

Professional Experience

Education and Certifications

Science and Products

Microbial Source Tracking and Escherichia coli Monitoring in the Rio Grande in the South Valley, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Ecohydrologic and Water Quality Data Collection at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge and the Albuquerque South Valley Community Commons

Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Middle Rio Grande (Albuquerque, N. Mex.)

National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) Rio Grande Valley Study

Science and Products

Microbial Source Tracking and Escherichia coli Monitoring in the Rio Grande in the South Valley, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Ecohydrologic and Water Quality Data Collection at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge and the Albuquerque South Valley Community Commons

Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Middle Rio Grande (Albuquerque, N. Mex.)

National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) Rio Grande Valley Study