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Research about Mesilla ground-water basin

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Mesilla ground-water basin.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Selected hydrologic data for the Mesilla ground-water basin, 1987 through 1992 water years, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas

The Mesilla ground-water basin monitoring program was established in 1987 to document hydrologic conditions and establish a long-term, continuous data base to permit future quantitative evaluation of the ground-water flow system and stream/aquifer relations. Data collection is divided into three program elements. These are the (1) Mesilla ground- water basin observation-well program; (2) Mesilla Valley hydrologic sections; and (3) Rio Grande seepage investigations. This report is a compilation of hydrologic data collected for the Mesilla ground- water basin monitoring program during the 1987 through 1992 water years. Hydrologic data presented in the report include well records and water levels for 181 wells; mean daily river stage and ground- water levels at 37 sites; seepage investigations of the Rio Grande from Radium Springs, New Mexico, to El Paso, Texas; and chemical analyses of 29 water samples collected from the Rio Grande.

New Mexico, Texas↗

Geohydrology of the Mesilla ground-water basin, Dona Ana County, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas

The aquifer system of the Mesilla ground-water basin is the Quaternary flood-plain alluvium and the Quaternary and Tertiary Santa Fe Group. The hydraulic gradient in the shallow flood-plain alluvium within the Mesilla Valley is generally between 4 and 6 feet per mile. The hydraulic gradient in the Santa Fe Group ranges from 100 feet per mile in the northwestern part of the study area to less than 2 feet per mile in the southwestern part of the study area. Ground-water levels in nearby observation wells correspond to increases in river stage and indicate significant recharge to the aquifer at the Rio Grande. Water in storage within the Rio Grande flood-plain alluvium/Santa Fe Group aquifer system occurs under unconfined and semi- confined conditions. Horizontal permeability usually exceeds vertical permeability by several orders of magnitude. The thickness and extent of finer grained, less permeable material increase with depth and horizontally toward the southern end of the basin. Seasonal trends in the shallow water table generally correspond to recharge during the irrigation season. Freshwater zones are overlain by zones of slightly saline to saline water in the Mesilla Valley. Geohydrologic data indicate that the thickness of the freshwater zone is significantly less than previously estimated in the vicinity of the proposed West Mesa well field. Lithologic data, borehole-geophysical logs, water-quality data, and potentiometric contours of ground-water in the upper Santa Fe Group indicate a hydraulic connection between the Mesilla Valley and West Mesa.

New Mexico, Texas↗