A hydrogeologic investigation of Curry and Roosevelt Counties, New Mexico
As part of development of a regional source water protection plan, in 2015–2016 the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources performed a technical review of existing hydrogeology studies in Curry and Roosevelt counties in east-central New Mexico. Additionally, groundwater quality was tested in numerous wells, and groundwater levels were examined to provide up-to-date information on the availability of groundwater in the region. This report describes the results of the hydrogeologic review and findings from the groundwater study.
Funding was provided by the New Mexico Environment Department, Drinking Water Bureau, as part of the Source Water Protection program. Additional support was provided by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources and its Aquifer Mapping Program.
Lifetime projections for the High Plains Aquifer in east-central New Mexico
Several thousand water-level measurements spanning over 50 years, from over a thousand wells, were used to create aquifer lifetime projections for the High Plains Aquifer in east-central New Mexico. The projections were calculated by projecting past-water level declines into the future. Assuming future decline rates match those of the past ten to twenty years, the two scenarios presented in this report may be viewed as the usable aquifer lifetime for domestic and low-intensity municipal and industrial uses, and the usable lifetime for large-scale irrigated agriculture.
This study was funded by the City of Clovis, Curry County, and Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority. Well information and water-level data were provided by the USGS New Mexico Water Science Center.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Geoffrey C. Rawling, Senior Field Geologist