Abstract

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when surface water from the Rio Grande began being treated and integrated into the system. An increase of about 20 percent in the basin human population from 1990 to 2000 and of about 22 percent increase from 2000 to 2010 also resulted in an increased demand for water. A network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the basin. This network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly in 1983. Currently (2011), the network consists of 126 wells and piezometers (a piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer and is often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers open to different depths). This report presents water-level data collected by U.S. Geological Survey personnel at those 126 sites through water year 2011 to better help the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority manage water use.

First posted September 11, 2012