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Zach M. Shephard

Zach is a Hydrologist at the New Mexico Water Science Center. He received his B.S. in Geosciences from Boise State University in 2015, and his M.S. in Hydrology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in 2019. Zach’s thesis research was focused on assessing water quality, watershed runoff, and vegetation regrowth in response to prescribed forest burns.

Zach joined the USGS as a biological aid in January 2016 at the Idaho Water Science Center and made the move to the New Mexico Water Science Center as a student trainee after relocating to New Mexico to attend grad school in the fall of 2016. Since graduating and moving into a hydrologist position in 2019, Zach’s research has been focused around urban water quality and urban surface-water modeling. His current research also now includes water quality trend analysis in the Rio Grande River.

 

Professional Experience

  • 2019 to present, Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Water Science Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    2016 to 2019, Student Trainee (Hydrology), U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Water Science Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    2016 winter-summer, Biological Aid (Student Contractor), U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho Water Science Center, Boise, Idaho

    2015 summer/fall, Laboratory Technician,

Education and Certifications

  • M.S. Hydrology, Earth and Environmental Science Department, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 2019

    B.S. Geosciences (emphasis in hydrology), Department of Geosciences, Boise State Univer

Science and Products

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PCB Project Field Photograph, USGS - New Mexico Water Science Center

Investigating Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Concentrations and Loads in Albuquerque Stormwater Channels

In cooperation with the New Mexico County of Bernalillo, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) characterized polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations and estimated potential loading into the Rio Grande from urban watersheds that are under the county’s jurisdiction. Water and sediment samples were collected in 2017-18 from six sites within four stormwater drainage basins in the Albuquerque, New...
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New Mexico Water Science Center
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Investigating Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Concentrations and Loads in Albuquerque Stormwater Channels

In cooperation with the New Mexico County of Bernalillo, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) characterized polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations and estimated potential loading into the Rio Grande from urban watersheds that are under the county’s jurisdiction. Water and sediment samples were collected in 2017-18 from six sites within four stormwater drainage basins in the Albuquerque, New...
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Boundary of Model Grid, NM Water Science Center

Rio Grande Transboundary Integrated Hydrologic Model: Modeling Conjunctive Use to Support Resource Management

The Palomas, Mesilla, and Conejos-Médanos Basins in New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico compose a geologically and hydrologically complex region. The conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater takes place under a myriad of legal and operational constraints, including the Rio Grande Compact, an international treaty, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Rio Grande Project. New demands are...
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New Mexico Water Science Center
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Rio Grande Transboundary Integrated Hydrologic Model: Modeling Conjunctive Use to Support Resource Management

The Palomas, Mesilla, and Conejos-Médanos Basins in New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico compose a geologically and hydrologically complex region. The conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater takes place under a myriad of legal and operational constraints, including the Rio Grande Compact, an international treaty, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Rio Grande Project. New demands are...
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MODFLOW One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (MF-OWHM) used to simulate conjunctive use in the Hatch Valley and Mesilla Basin, New Mexico and Texas, United States, and northern Chihuahua, Mexico

The Rio Grande Transboundary Integrated Hydrologic Model (RGTIHM), which was originally developed by Hanson and others (2020) (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195120), was updated and recalibrated to minimize the biases in RGTIHM?s simulation of streamflow and to incorporate new estimates of historical agricultural consumptive use in the study area. The RGTIHM was developed through an interagency eff
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New Mexico Water Science Center

Hydrologic simulations using projected climate data as input to the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) in the Upper Rio Grande Basin

The Rio Grande Basin Study (Basin Study) is a stakeholder-led project funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to develop climate adaptation strategies to address the growing gap between water supply and demand in the Upper Rio Grande Basin in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. The role of the USGS in the Basin Study is to simulate historic and future streamflow using projected climate data from 27
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New Mexico Water Science Center

Input and Output Data for the Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) to Simulate Near-Native Streamflow in the Upper Rio Grande Basin

This data release contains input and output data from hydrologic simulations of naturalized or near-native streamflow conditions in the Upper Rio Grande Basin (URGB) in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico by using the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). The Upper Rio Grande Basin PRMS model was calibrated in a three step process by (1) calibrating solar radiation and potentia
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New Mexico Water Science Center

Input and Output Data used to Compare Storm Runoff Models for a Small Watershed in an Urban Metropolitan Area, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Three separate hydrologic models were used to simulate storm runoff in the Hahn Arroyo Watershed, an urbanized watershed with concrete lined channels in the northeastern quadrant of Albuquerque, New Mexico that exhibits flashy, monsoonal-driven, storm runoff events. This data release contains the input and output files associated with the hydrologic simulations of each of the following models: Hyd
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New Mexico Water Science Center

Digital hydrologic and geospatial data for the Rio Grande transboundary integrated hydrologic model and water-availability analysis, New Mexico and Texas, United States, and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico

Digital hydrologic and geospatial data for the Rio Grande transboundary integrated hydrologic model and water-availability analysis, New Mexico and Texas, United States, and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico
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New Mexico Water Science Center

Data Release: The effects of wildfire on snow water resources estimated from canopy disturbance patterns and meteorological conditions

This data release contains model input and output data associated with a published report (The effects of wildfire on snow water resources estimated from canopy disturbance patterns and meteorological conditions [Moeser, Broxton and Harpold, 2019]) where specific descriptions of the data can be found. The input data are derived from pre- and post-fire aerial LiDAR acquired in June 2010 and May 201
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New Mexico Water Science Center

Geodatabase supporting the assessment of hydrologic resources and the potential effects from oil and gas development in the Bureau of Land Management Tri-County Planning Area, Sierra, Doa Ana, and Otero Counties, New Mexico

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release presents the geospatial data used to assess the hydrologic resources and the potential effects from oil and gas development in the Bureau of Land Management Tri-County Planning Area, Sierra, Doa Ana, and Otero Counties, New Mexico. Publicly available data were used to assess these resources and effects and to identify data gaps in the Tri-County pla
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New Mexico Water Science Center

Geodatabase supporting the assessment of hydrologic resources and the potential effects from oil and gas development in the Bureau of Land Management Tri-County Planning Area, Sierra, Doña Ana, and Otero Counties, New Mexico

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release presents the geospatial data used to assess the hydrologic resources and the potential effects from oil and gas development in the Bureau of Land Management Tri-County Planning Area, Sierra, Doña Ana, and Otero Counties, New Mexico.

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New Mexico Water Science Center

Groundwater flow model investigation of the vulnerability of water resources at Chaco Culture National Historical Park related to unconventional oil and gas development

Chaco Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP), located in northwestern New Mexico, protects the greatest concentration of Chacoan historical sites in the American Southwest. Geologically, CCNHP is located within the San Juan structural basin, which consists in part of complex Cretaceous stratigraphy and hosts a variety of energy resources. As part of a larger study to investigate the vulnerabilit
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Zachary M. Shephard, Andre B. Ritchie, Benjamin S. Linhoff, John Joseph Lunzer
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Water quality at Chaco Culture National Historical Park and the potential effects of hydrocarbon extraction

Study regionChaco Culture National Historical Park (CCNHP) is in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico, U.S.A. Its only water supply is in Gallup Sandstone aquifer, stratigraphically surrounded by layers long targeted for oil and natural gas extraction.Study focusTo assess groundwater flow direction, age, mixing between aquifers, and whether hydrocarbons extraction may affect water quality
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Benjamin S. Linhoff, Kimberly R. Beisner, Andrew Hunt, Zachary M. Shephard
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Water Resources Mission Area, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center

Modeling post-wildfire hydrologic response: Review and future directions for applications of physically based distributed simulation

Wildfire is a growing concern as climate shifts. The hydrologic effects of wildfire, which include elevated hazards and changes in water quantity and quality, are increasingly assessed using numerical models. Post-wildfire application of physically based distributed models provides unique insight into the underlying processes that affect water resources after wildfire. This work reviews and synthe
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Brian A. Ebel, Zachary M. Shephard, Michelle A. Walvoord, Sheila F. Murphy, Trevor Fuess Partridge, Kimberlie Perkins
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Water-quality trends in surface waters of the Jemez River and Middle Rio Grande Basin from Cochiti to Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2004–19

Municipal water supply for Albuquerque, New Mexico, is provided, in part, through diversion of surface water from the Rio Grande by way of the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project diversion structure. Changes in surface-water quality along the Rio Grande and its tributaries upstream from the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project diversion structure are not well characterized. This study describes
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Allison K. Flickinger, Zachary M. Shephard
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Update and recalibration of the Rio Grande Transboundary Integrated Hydrologic Model, New Mexico and Texas, United States, and northern Chihuahua, Mexico

The Rio Grande Transboundary Integrated Hydrologic Model (RGTIHM) was developed through an interagency effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation to provide a tool for analyzing the hydrologic system response to the historical evolution of water use and potential changes in water supplies and demands in the Hatch Valley (also known as Rincon Valley in the study area) a
Authors
Andre B. Ritchie, Amy E. Galanter, Allison K. Flickinger, Zachary M. Shephard, Ian M. Ferguson
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Comparison of storm runoff models for a small watershed in an urban metropolitan area, Albuquerque, New Mexico

In order to comply with a current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency watershed-based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, the City of Albuquerque required a better understanding of the rainfall-runoff processes in its small urban watersheds. That requirement prompted the initiation of the assessment of three existing watershed models that were developed to simulate those proce
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Zachary M. Shephard, Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Assessment of soil and water resources in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, New Mexico

The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument (Monument) in southern New Mexico was established in 2014. Given anticipated future demands in the Monument for recreation, livestock grazing, and maintenance of rights-of-way (for example, pipelines and powerlines), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) needs a better understanding of the current soil and water resources and how infrastructure impr
Authors
Johanna M. Blake, Aurelia C. Mitchell, Zachary M. Shephard, Grady Ball, Shaleene Chavarria, Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Anderson Ranch wetlands hydrologic characterization in Taos County, New Mexico

The Anderson Ranch property (study area), located in Taos County, north-central New Mexico, was transferred from Chevron Mining, Inc. (CMI) to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) court-ordered settlement. The study area supports freshwater emergent wetlands and freshwater ponds. The settlement states that CMI will provide the
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Amy E. Galanter, Zachary M. Shephard, Pamela Herrera-Olivas
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Characterization and load estimation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from selected Rio Grande tributary stormwater channels in the Albuquerque urbanized area, New Mexico, 2017–18

In cooperation with the New Mexico County of Bernalillo, the U.S. Geological Survey characterized potential polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentration and estimated loading into the Rio Grande from watersheds that are under the county’s jurisdiction. Water and sediment samples were collected in 2017–18 from six sites within four stormwater drainage basins in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urbanize
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Zachary M. Shephard, Kathleen E. Conn, Kimberly R. Beisner, Alanna D. Jornigan, Christina F. Bryant
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Water Resources Mission Area, New Mexico Water Science Center

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) telemetry and associated habitat data collected in a geodatabase from the upper Boise River, southwestern Idaho

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, are among the more thermally sensitive of coldwater species in North America. The Boise River upstream of Arrowrock Dam in southwestern Idaho (including Arrowrock Reservoir) provides habitat for one of the southernmost populations of bull trout. The presence of the species in Arrowrock Reservoir poses impli
Authors
Dorene E. MacCoy, Zachary M. Shephard, Joseph R. Benjamin, Dmitri T. Vidergar, Anthony F. Prisciandaro
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Idaho Water Science Center

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