The City of Albuquerque, the major population center in New Mexico, underwent a more than 

fivefold population increase between 1950 and 2010. Before 2009, groundwater was the primary source 

of the City of Albuquerque’s municipal water supply, but since that time, the city has diverted water 

through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project to augment municipal water supplies. Consequently, 

there is interest in understanding how groundwater levels changed in response to groundwater pumping, 

surface-water diversions, and conservation measures. To give a more detailed history of water-level 

changes from 1950 through 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Albuquerque 

Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, created maps showing water-level contours and changes by 

contouring water-table elevations and production-zone hydraulic heads that were simulated with a 

recently updated regional-scale transient groundwater-flow model at 10-year intervals from 1950 to 2000 

and again for 2008. 

Both the water-table elevations and production-zone hydraulic heads declined over time with the 

largest change occurring between 1970 and 1980, which was a period of rapid population growth and 

groundwater use. Declines in the water-table elevations and production-zone hydraulic heads are focused 

around major pumping centers and are largest in the production zone. Hydrographs from nine 

production-zone piezometers in the modeled area indicated varying responses to the increased use of 

surface-water diversions during 2009–12, with responses related to the locations of the wells within the 

study area and their proximity to pumping centers and the Rio Grande.

Abstract

The Albuquerque metropolitan area (study area), located in the Middle Rio Grande Basin of central New 

Mexico (fig. 1), relied almost exclusively on groundwater resources of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system for 

its water supply over the past several decades. Rapid development over this time period is indicated in a more 

than fivefold increase in the population (from 96,815 to 545,852) of the City of Albuquerque (Albuquerque) 

between 1950 and 2010 (fig. 2) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Accompanying this population growth has been 

an increase in demand on the groundwater of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system that has resulted in 

water-level declines across the study area (fig. 2) (Bexfield and Anderholm, 2002; Falk and others, 2011). 

Several investigations to improve understanding of the hydrology of the Middle Rio Grande Basin and 

the Santa Fe Group aquifer system have been conducted since the 1990s. These investigations have shown 

that the extent of the highly productive parts of the aquifer is less widespread than previously thought 

(Hawley and Haase, 1992; Thorn and others, 1993) and that the water users in the study area have consistently 

withdrawn groundwater in excess of natural recharge (Bartolino and Cole, 2002). Predevelopment (pre-1950 

for the purposes of this report) hydraulic gradients in the study area east of the Rio Grande were oriented 

roughly northeast to southwest following the axis of the Rio Grande in the center of the basin. More recent 

investigations, such as Falk and others (2011), indicated that hydraulic gradients are now directed towards 

pumping centers in the eastern, western, and northern parts of the study area. 

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) has addressed water-level 

declines through a number of actions to achieve a sustainable water supply, including augmenting the 

groundwater supply with surface water, enacting conservation measures to reduce per capita water use, 

retaining the current groundwater supply as a drought reserve, and performing targeted recharge to the 

groundwater system during periods of low demand (Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, 

2007). With the completion of the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project diversion infrastructure on the Rio 

Grande in December 2008 (Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, 2009), the ABCWUA 

began diverting and treating surface water for delivery to Albuquerque water customers, thus reducing 

reliance on groundwater. Consequently, there is interest in understanding how groundwater levels changed in 

response to groundwater pumping, surface-water diversions, and conservation measures. 

Introduction

This report describes changes in water levels over 10-year intervals in the study area from 1950 and 

2000 and again for 2008 as simulated by a recently updated regional-scale transient groundwater-flow 

model (Bexfield and others, 2011) in both the water table and the production zone (the depth interval where 

most groundwater withdrawal occurs). Some previous studies have described water-level changes from 

estimated pre-1960 values to 2002 (Bexfield and Anderholm, 2002) and from estimated pre-1960 values to 

2008 (Falk and others, 2011) based on manual measurements of water levels, whereas this report provides a 

history of spatial and temporal water-level changes across the study area on a decadal scale. Hydrographs 

from nine study area production-zone piezometers were compared to the model results from 2000 to 2008 

and were examined to determine water-level responses during 2009–12 to the reduction in groundwater 

withdrawal after beginning deliveries of San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project surface water to the 

Albuquerque area in December 2008.

Purpose and Scope

Water-table elevations and production-zone hydraulic heads (the elevation to which water will 

rise in a well completed in a confined aquifer) were simulated by using a regional-scale transient 

groundwater-flow model of the Middle Rio Grande Basin (Bexfield and others, 2011) and were 

compared to the steady-state conditions of the model, defined as the year 1900. Although the model 

covers the entire basin, the study area was limited to the Albuquerque metropolitan area (fig. 1). The 

model comprises nine layers extending from post-Santa Fe Group alluvium to the basement rock 

underlying the Santa Fe Group aquifer. Layers 1–4 can be represented under confined or 

unconfined conditions depending on the location in the study area and the groundwater withdrawal 

scenario being modeled. Water-table elevations were simulated in layers 1–3 of the model 

depending on the location in the study area, and layer 5 generally is representative of the production 

zone. The accuracy of the model simulations was determined by comparing model results to 

measured water levels at several sites within the study area; measured and simulated water levels 

were generally within 16 feet (ft) of one another. Additional information regarding model 

calibration and uncertainty is described in Bexfield and others (2011).

Estimating Water-Table Elevations and Production-Zone Hydraulic Heads

Simulated water-table elevations and production-zone hydraulic heads were output from the 

model in 10-year intervals from 1950 to 2000 and again for 2008 in a tabular point format, in which 

each data value represents one cell center in the model. Point output values from the model 

simulations of the mostly 10-year intervals of both water-table elevation and production-zone 

hydraulic head were then imported into ArcMap 10.1 (Environmental Systems Research Institute, 

Inc., 2012), and rasters were created for each interval by using the Inverse Distance Weighted 

(IDW) interpolation tool. IDW is an exact interpolation technique, in which the raster is constrained 

by the provided values so that the minimum and maximum values of the interpolated raster 

correspond to actual values. The interpolated rasters of simulated water-table elevations and 

production-zone hydraulic heads across the study area were then contoured to delineate areas of 

equal elevation and head. Contours were generated at 20-ft intervals in ArcMap 10.1 for each of the 

time intervals for both the water table and the production zone on the basis of the individual rasters 

(figs. 3 and 4). 

Change in Water-Table Elevations and Production-Zone Hydraulic Heads 

To determine how water-table elevations and hydraulic heads have changed since steady-state 

conditions, simulated water-table elevations and production-zone hydraulic heads were compared to 

the steady-state water level generated for 1900. Water-table elevations and production-zone 

hydraulic heads for each time interval were subtracted from the steady-state water levels in layers 

1–3 and 5, respectively, in ArcMap 10.1, such that the subtracted values represent the difference 

between steady-state and modeled conditions for both the water table and the production zone.

After the change was calculated for each point in the model grid for the 10-year intervals from

1950 to 2000 and again for 2008, a change surface was interpolated by using IDW in ArcMap

10.1 (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2012). The magnitudes of water-level

change were grouped into 20-ft intervals for each time interval. 

Because the water levels and areas of water-level change presented in figures 3 and 4 are 

derived from model simulations, they are intended to provide only estimates of the general 

magnitude, extent, and areal pattern of water-level change. Additionally, because of the error 

introduced by interpolating point values to a surface, the boundaries between intervals of simulated 

water-level change are not precisely located. It is not appropriate to use these maps to estimate the 

exact water level or water-level change at a specific location.

Methods for Estimating Water-Level Contours and Change Since Steady-State 

Conditions in the Water Table and Production Zone 

The study area is located in the Middle Rio Grande Basin (fig. 1), which is part of a larger structural 

rift valley that extends from southern Colorado to northern Mexico. The basin is bounded by faults on the 

east and west, which uplift primarily Precambrian basement rocks on the east and Paleozoic sedimentary 

and Cenozoic volcanic rocks on the west to form the basin margins (Hawley and others, 1995). The basin 

margins slope down towards the Rio Grande inner valley (the historical flood plain) from the east and west, 

with the Rio Grande running through the center of the basin from north to south. The Middle Rio Grande 

Basin is defined hydrologically as the extent of the Cenozoic sediments—primarily composed of sand, 

gravel, silt, and clay—that make up the Santa Fe Group aquifer system (Thorn and others, 1993). The Santa 

Fe Group aquifer system is generally unconfined in the study area but is semiconfined at depth because of 

interbedded fine-grained layers (Bexfield and others, 2011). Recharge to the Santa Fe Group aquifer system 

is primarily from mountain-front recharge on the basin margins, from subflow entering from adjacent 

basins to the north, and from leakage from the Rio Grande (Anderholm, 2000; McAda and Barroll, 2002).

Wells installed in the early 1900s were hand dug and located in the inner valley near the Rio Grande. 

As Albuquerque expanded with population increases in the 1920s and 1930s, new wells were installed into 

deeper groundwater reserves (Thorn and others, 1993). Annual withdrawal of groundwater for Albuquerque 

peaked in 1989 at nearly 127,000 acre-feet (fig. 2); since then, withdrawal has been generally decreasing, 

even with increasing population (fig. 2), in part because of conservation methods reducing per capita usage 

(Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, 2009). To further reduce groundwater 

withdrawals and therefore mitigate continued water-level declines, Albuquerque developed a surface-water 

treatment and delivery system to use water from the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project (Albuquerque 

Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, 2009). Although surface-water use is increasing and is projected 

to meet most of the future demand of Albuquerque, groundwater continues to be the primary source of 

public supply to the remainder of the Middle Rio Grande Basin (Bexfield and others, 2012). 

Description of Study Area

To give a more detailed history of water-level changes from 1950 through 2012, the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the ABCWUA, created maps showing water-level contours and 

changes by contouring water-table elevations and production-zone hydraulic heads that were simulated with 

a recently updated regional-scale transient groundwater-flow model (Bexfield and others, 2011) at 10-year 

intervals from 1950 to 2000 and again for 2008. 

Examination of simulated and measured water-level changes over decadal time scales can provide 

better understanding of how variables such as groundwater withdrawal rates, spatial distribution and depth 

of supply wells, and trends in water demand affect the Santa Fe Group aquifer system. This information 

may inform the development of strategies for maintaining a sustainable groundwater reserve in the future.

The measured water-level data from the selected production-zone piezometers cannot be 

compared directly to the entire period of simulated water-level declines presented in figures 3 

and 4, but there is a comparison period to the modeled water-level decline maps for 2000–8 

(figs. 3G and 4G). The period of record for the continuously monitored piezometers generally 

began in the late 1990s through 2000 and continued through 2012. Five piezometers are located 

to the east of the Rio Grande (Del Sol, Garfield, Matheson, Montessa, and Nor Este), and four 

are located to the west (Lincoln, Sierra Vista, West Bluff, and Westgate) (fig. 5; site locations on 

figs. 3 and 4).

Measured water-level data used to create the hydrographs analyzed for this report (fig. 5) 

were collected by using methods described by Beman (2013). Production-zone piezometers 

selected for analysis were identified as locations with continuous water-level records in areas 

that provide good spatial distribution across the study area and that were developed in geologic 

units representative of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque area (figs. 3 and 

4). Water-level data from each piezometer were recorded by using a pressure transducer 

connected to an external data logger that collected hourly water-level data (Freeman and others, 

2004). The hourly values for each day were later reduced to daily maximum values and plotted 

as hydrographs.

Comparison of Simulated and Measured Water-Level Data

I 25

I 40

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield

Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra Vista

4,960

4,940

4,980

5,020

5,040

5,000

4,920

4,900

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

I 25

I 40

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield

Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra Vista 4,960

4,940

4,980

5,020

5,040

5,000

4,920

4,900

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

I 25

I 40

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra Vista

4,940

4,980

4,960

5,020

5,000

4,920

4,900

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

Base from ESRI Data and Maps, 2008 World, Europe, United States, Canada, and 

Mexico (2008). Redlands, Calif., ESRI, digital data, 1:50,000

River from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, various years, 

TIGER/Line files, digital data, 1:100,000

Lambert Conformal Conic projection

Modeled water-table elevations and drawdown are D Clarke 1866 Datum

Wells are North American Datum of 1983 and North American Vertical Datum of 1988

A. 1950 B. 1960 C. 1970 D. 1980

I 25

I 40

Lincoln

Del

Sol

Nor Este

Garfield

Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra Vista

4,920

4,940

4,960

4,980

5,000

4,900

5,020

4,900

4,920

4,900

4,900

4,900

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

I 25

I 40

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield

Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra Vista

4,920

4,940

4,980

4,960

4,900

5,000

5,020

4,880

4,900

4,880

4,900

4,920

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

I 25

I 40

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield

Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West

Bluff

Sierra Vista

4,900

4,920

4,940

4,960

4,980

5,000

5,020

4,880

4,860

4,840

4,960

4,900

4,880

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

I 25

I 40

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield

Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West

Bluff

Sierra

Vista

4,900

4,920

4,940

4,960

4,880

4,980

5,000

5,020

4,860

4,840

4,880

4,940

4,960

4,900

4,860

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

E. 1990 F. 2000 G. 2008

5,040

5,040

EXPLANATION

Estimated production-zone hydraulic head decline,

in feet, steady-state (1900) to specified year

Piezometer for which hydrograph

is shown for period of record

Contours dashed where not

representative of actual

conditions in proximity to

basin-bounding faults

Production-zone hydraulic

head contour—Interval 20 feet.

Datum is North American

Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

No decline

0–20

21–40

41–60

61–80

81–100

101–120

121–140

141–160

Generally, the hydrograph data agree with the simulated hydraulic head changes for 2000–8 

in the production zone but demonstrate a finer temporal resolution that is not included in the map 

series. The map series illustrates decadal-scale aggregate change in potentiometric surfaces, 

whereas the hydrographs often indicate long-term trends and seasonal fluctuations, as well as 

individual years where water levels change in a direction contrary to the overall trend. 

Water-Table Elevations 2000–8

Hydrographs of each of the nine production-zone piezometers exhibit seasonal fluctuations, 

likely in response to annual groundwater pumping cycles (fig. 5). Water supply wells are pumped 

more during higher demand periods in the summer and less during the winter, and water levels in 

the piezometers fluctuate in accord with these changes. Annual fluctuations are included in 

multiyear trends, and for the period 2000–8, 7 of the 9 piezometers show trends of declining 

water levels, agreeing with the continued hydraulic head declines from the simulated results for 

the production zone over the same period. 

The Garfield piezometer, located in the inner valley, was the only site east of the Rio Grande 

to exhibit increases in production-zone water level over the period 2000–8. The response at this 

site could be influenced by proximity to the Rio Grande and unlined drain seepage. The rest of 

the piezometers to the east of the Rio Grande (Del Sol, Matheson, Montessa, and Nor Este) 

indicate an average water-level decline rate of about -0.2 feet per year (ft/yr) over the period 

2000–8. Rates of change were estimated from the slope of trend lines generated by a least

squares regression analysis (Helsel and Hirsch, 2002) over the respective period of time and do 

not account for seasonal fluctuations.

To the west of the Rio Grande, water-level declines are present at 3 of the 4 piezometers 

investigated over the period 2000–8 (Sierra Vista, West Bluff, and Lincoln), with an average 

annual water-level decline rate of about -0.9 ft/yr among the three piezometers. The Westgate 

piezometer, located near the western boundary of the basin, exhibited a water-level increase of 

about 1.3 ft/yr over the period 2000–8.

Water-Table Elevations 2009–12

In December 2008, Albuquerque began augmenting its municipal supply with water from the 

San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project, thereby decreasing demand on groundwater (fig. 2). 

Continuous water-level data from the same nine production-zone piezometers were examined for 

changes in trends during 2009–12. Few supply wells have been shut off completely since the 

introduction of San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project water, but most supply wells have 

substantially reduced annual withdrawal volumes since then (Albuquerque Bernalillo County 

Water Utility Authority, unpub. data, 2013). The City of Rio Rancho, at the northern part of the 

study area, continues to be solely supplied by groundwater (Water Prospecting and Resource 

Consulting, 2007). 

Increases in water levels were found in 6 of the 9 piezometers examined during 2009–12. 

Rates of increase ranged from about 1.1 ft/yr to 3.5 ft/yr, with an average of about 2.3 ft/yr. This 

rate of water-level increase during 2009–12 is greater than the average water-level decline rate of 

the seven declining piezometers over the period 2000–8 of about -0.5 ft/yr.

All five of the piezometers east of the Rio Grande indicated increases in water levels over the 

period 2009–12. During this time period, these increases ranged from about 1.1 ft/yr at the 

Montessa site to about 3.5 ft/yr at the Matheson site. On the western side of the Rio Grande, 

responses were more varied. Three of the four piezometer sites continued to exhibit decreases in 

water level over the period 2009–12. The West Bluff site had the most substantial water-level 

decline rate at about -3.7 ft/yr. This site is in proximity to the Gonzales well field, the only 

Albuquerque well cluster that increased groundwater withdrawal over the period 2009–12. The 

Lincoln piezometer site is in the City of Rio Rancho, where groundwater remains the sole source 

of supply. The Westgate site is the only one of the selected piezometers on the western side of the 

Rio Grande with an increase in water level over the period 2009–12. This site is located in the 

southwestern part of the study area, where the closest supply well cluster (Leavitt) decreased 

groundwater withdrawals more than thirtyfold from 2010 to 2012.

Rio Grande

Rio Grande

Rio Grande

Rio Grande

Rio Grande

Rio Grande

Rio Grande

Figure 5. Production-zone hydrographs of selected piezometers (locations shown on figs. 3 and 4) for the period of record through December 31, 2012, in the Albuquerque metropolitan area, New Mexico.

4,910

4,915

4,920

4,925

4,930

4,935

4,940

4,945

4,950

4,955

4,960

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

West Bluff

USGS site number 350638106413702

4,910

4,915

4,920

4,925

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

Garfield

USGS site number 350706106390302

4,870

4,875

4,880

4,885

4,890

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

Montessa

USGS site number 350056106370102

4,885

4,890

4,895

4,900

4,905

4,910

4,915

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

Westgate

USGS site number 350244106450202

4,930

4,935

4,940

4,945

4,950

4,955

4,960

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

Lincoln

USGS site number 351515106410402

4,910

4,915

4,920

4,925

4,930

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

Nor Este

USGS site number 351114106330602

4,945

4,950

4,955

4,960

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

Sierra Vista

USGS site number 350910106414802

4,840

4,845

4,850

4,855

4,860

4,865

4,870

4,875

4,880

4,885

4,890

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

Del Sol

USGS site number 350534106354702

4,845

4,850

4,855

4,860

4,865

4,870

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Year

Matheson

USGS site number 350653106311602

Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29 Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29 Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29

Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29 Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29 Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29

Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29 Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29 Daily maximum water-level elevation, in feet above NGVD 29

NGVD 29, National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929

USGS, U.S. Geological Survey NOTE: Vertical line at 2009 represents start of San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project water delivery

Changes in Water-Table Elevations and Production-Zone Hydraulic Heads, 1950–2008

EXPLANATION

Estimated water-table decline, 

in feet, steady-state (1900) to specified year

Piezometer for which hydrograph

is shown for period of record

Contours dashed where not

representative of actual

conditions in proximity to

basin-bounding faults

Water-table elevation contour—

Interval 20 feet. Datum is

North American Vertical

Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

No decline

0–20

21–40

41–60

61–80

81–100

101–120

121–140

141–160

Base from ESRI Data and Maps, 2008 World, Europe, United States, Canada, and 

Mexico (2008). Redlands, Calif., ESRI, digital data, 1:50,000

River from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, various years, 

TIGER/Line files, digital data, 1:100,000

Lambert Conformal Conic projection

Modeled water-table elevations and drawdown are D Clarke 1866 Datum

Wells are North American Datum of 1983 and North American Vertical Datum of 1988

A. 1950

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield

Westgate

West Bluff

Sierra Vista

Montessa

Matheson

I 25

I 40 4,960

4,980

5,000

4,940

5,020

4,920

4,900

5,040

4,980

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

Rio Grande

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

B. 1960

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra Vista

I 25

I 40

4,960

4,980

5,000

4,940

5,020

4,920

4,900

5,040 4,980

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

Rio Grande

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

C. 1970

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield

Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra Vista

I 25

I 40

4,960

4,940

4,980

5,000

5,020

4,920

4,900

5,040

4,960

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

Rio Grande

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

Sierra Vista

West

Bluff

I 25

I 40

4,940

4,980

4,960

5,000

4,920

4,900

5,020

5,040

4,940

4,900

4,940

4,900

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

Rio Grande

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra

Vista

I 25

I 40

4,920

4,940

4,960

4,980

5,000

4,900

5,020

5,040

4,880

4,920

4,900

4,920

4,880

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

Rio Grande

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

Lincoln

Del Sol

Nor Este

Garfield Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West

Bluff

Sierra

Vista

I 25

I 40

4,900

4,920

4,940

4,960

4,980

5,000

4,880

5,020

4,860

5,040

4,900

4,900

4,900

4,960

4,880

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

Rio Grande

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

Lincoln

Del

Sol

Nor Este

Garfield Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Sierra

Vista

I 25

I 40

4,900

4,920

4,940

4,960

4,980

5,000

5,020

5,040

4,860

4,880 4,840

4,880

4,900

4,900

4,860

4,880

106°45'W 106°40'W 106°35'W 106°30'W

35°15'N

35°10'N

35°5'N

35°0'N

Rio Grande

0 1 2 MILES

0 1 2 KILOMETERS

Figure 3. Simulated water-level contours and change since steady-state (1900) conditions in the water table, 1950–2008, Albuquerque metropolitan area, New Mexico.

Figure 4. Simulated hydraulic head contours and change since steady-state (1900) conditions in the production zone, 1950–2008, Albuquerque metropolitan area, New Mexico.

The maps representing 1950 and 1960 simulated change in water-table elevations and 

production-zone hydraulic heads (figs. 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B) show only minor water-level 

declines near the center of the study area. Prior to 1960, groundwater withdrawals were 

reported as a total volume for Albuquerque rather than by individual well or well field 

(Kernodle and others, 1995). Groundwater withdrawals for the 1950 and 1960 stress periods 

were therefore simulated as occurring near the center of the Albuquerque population in 

1950–60 (figs. 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B). More detailed withdrawal information is available for 

wells and well fields throughout the study area after 1960, and simulated water-level changes 

incorporate these pumping centers beginning with the 1970 map (figs. 3C and 4C). Contours 

along the northeastern boundary of the study area indicate perturbations of the water table 

that likely do not reflect actual conditions. These perturbations are shown as dashed lines on 

figures 3 and 4 for not being representative of actual conditions and likely are a result of the 

model output values for a complex area containing many basin-bounding faults (Hawley and 

others, 1995).

D. 1980 E. 1990 F. 2000 G. 2008

The largest changes in both water-table elevations and production-zone hydraulic heads 

occur between the 1970 and 1980 maps (figs. 3C, 3D, 4C, and 4D), in part because of 

increased groundwater use from rapid population growth during this period and few in-place 

water conservation measures. Total groundwater withdrawal in Albuquerque decreased after 

peaking in 1989 (fig. 2), but simulated water-table elevations and the production-zone 

hydraulic heads continued to decline for 1990, 2000, and 2008 (figs. 3E, 3F, 3G, 4E, 4F, and 

4G), likely indicating that the reduced pumping rates were still in excess of aquifer recharge. 

The largest declines in both the water table and the production zone are near major pumping 

centers, the largest of which is located in eastern Albuquerque, where there were declines 

greater than 140 ft below steady-state conditions in both water-table elevation and 

production-zone hydraulic head in the model for 2008 (figs. 3G and 4G). These declines are 

likely the result of concentrated withdrawals of groundwater from clusters of supply wells 

and the effect of basin-bounding faults that juxtapose productive units of the Santa Fe Group 

aquifer system against less permeable units of the aquifer and (or) bedrock (Connell, 2006). 

Other major pumping centers in the study area, indicated by water-table and hydraulic head 

declines, are on the western side of the Rio Grande in both the central and northern parts of 

the study area (figs. 3 and 4). 

Water-Table Elevations and Change Since Steady-State Conditions

Simulated declines in water-table elevations (fig. 3) are generally less spatially extensive 

than those seen in production-zone hydraulic heads, but there are areas with similar declines 

around the major pumping centers. Water-level declines from steady-state conditions were 

generally 0–20 ft throughout the study area until the 1970 time period in the model. 

Simulated water levels for 1970 and 1980 indicated that the most substantial reductions in 

water-table water levels were in eastern Albuquerque. Substantial water-level declines west 

of the Rio Grande are evident in the map representing 1990 conditions, and declines in the 

northern part of the study area become more substantial between the 1990 and 2000 time 

periods. 

Groundwater pumping has had a lesser effect on water-table elevations near the Rio 

Grande inner valley. Seepage from the Rio Grande, riverside drains, and irrigation within the 

inner valley recharge the upper parts of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system, thereby 

mitigating some of the effects of pumping on groundwater levels at the water table (Bexfield 

and others, 2011). Water-level declines are consistently smallest along the southwestern and 

northwestern parts of the study area where historical and current groundwater withdrawals 

have been minimal.

Production-Zone Hydraulic Head and Change Since Steady-State Conditions

In the Albuquerque area, the production zone is typically from less than about 200 to 

900 ft or more below the water table (Bexfield and others, 2011). In general, patterns of 

simulated declines in production-zone hydraulic heads are similar to those in the water table 

over the period from 1950 to 2008, with the largest declines seen in proximity to major 

pumping centers (fig. 4); however, the production-zone maps show a more extensive area of 

decline because this is the depth interval where the majority of the withdrawal stresses are 

being applied to the Santa Fe Group aquifer system.

Simulated declines in production-zone hydraulic heads are more consistent among the 

eastern, western, and northern pumping centers than in the water table. Seepage from the Rio 

Grande, riverside drains, and irrigation conveyances is less effective in mitigating the effects 

of pumping on water levels in the deeper production zone than on water levels in the 

shallower water-table zone because of low hydraulic conductivity units separating the two 

zones. The smallest declines in water levels over the period from 1950 to 2008 were also in 

the southwest and northeast, but areas with minimal declines in the production zone over the 

simulation period were less spatially extensive than those indicated in the water-table maps.

I SBN 978- 1- 4113- 3804- 3

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To learn about the USGS and its information products visit

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This report is available at:

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3305

Suggested citation: Rice, Steven, Oelsner, Gretchen, and Heywood, Charles, 2014, 

Simulated and measured water levels and estimated water-level changes in the 

Albuquerque area, central New Mexico, 1950–2012: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Map 3305, 1 sheet, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3305.

ISSN 2329-1311 (print)

ISSN 2329-132X (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3305

Prepared in cooperation with the

 Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority

Printed on recycled paper

Simulated and Measured Water Levels and Estimated Water-Level Changes in the Albuquerque Area, Central New Mexico, 1950–2012

By

Steven Rice, Gretchen Oelsner, and Charles Heywood

2014

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Map 3305

The authors thank John Stomp and Katherine Yuhas of the ABCWUA for guidance and support of this investigation to improve 

understanding of the water resources of the Albuquerque area. The authors would also like to thank Joseph Beman of the USGS for 

making water-level measurements in the USGS piezometers that were used in the hydrographs presented in this report. 

Acknowledgments

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strategy—October 2007, overview, policies, and strategy for use of existing supplies: 

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aquifer system in the Albuquerque area, central New Mexico, predevelopment to 2002: U.S. 

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regional study area, New Mexico, section 2 of Eberts, S.M., ed., Hydrologic settings and 

groundwater flow simulations for regional investigations of the transport of anthropogenic and 

natural contaminants to public-supply wells—Investigations begun in 2004: Reston, Va., U.S. 

Geological Survey Professional Paper 1737–B, p. 2-1–2-61.

Bexfield, L.M., Jurgens, B.C., Crilley, D.M., and Christenson, S.C., 2012, Hydrogeology, water 

chemistry, and transport processes in the zone of contribution of a public-supply well in 

Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2007–9: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2011–5182, 114 p.

Connell, S.D., 2006, Preliminary geologic map of the Albuquerque-Rio Rancho metropolitan area 

and vicinity, Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico: Socorro, New Mexico Bureau of 

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surface and predevelopment to 2008 water-level change in the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in 

the Albuquerque area, central New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations 

Map 3162, 1 sheet.

Freeman, L.A., Carpenter, M.C., Rosenberry, D.O., Rousseau, J.P., Unger, R., and McLean, J.S., 

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Bureau of the Census, various years, TIGER/Line files, digital data, 1:100,000

Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 13N projection

Figure 1. Study area of the Albuquerque metropolitan area, New Mexico.

Rio Grande

Lincoln

Nor Este

Sierra Vista

Matheson

Westgate

Montessa

West Bluff

Garfield

Del Sol

0 2 4 MILES

0 2 4 KILOMETERS

New Mexico

Middle Rio

Grande Basin

Study 

area

35° 0' 0"N

35° 5' 0"N

35° 10' 0"N

35° 15' 0"N

106° 45' 0"W 106° 40' 0"W 106° 35' 0"W 106° 30' 0"W

Figure 2. City of Albuquerque (1930–2010) and Albuquerque metropolitan area (1960–2010) populations and annual City of Albuquerque groundwater 

withdrawals (1933–2012), New Mexico.

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

1,000,000

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Population

Annual ground

water withdrawal, in thousands of acre-feet

Year

Groundwater withdrawal

Population—City of Albuquerque

Population—Albuquerque metropolitan area

EXPLANATION