New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

In 1980, toxic chemicals were detected in water samples from wells in and near Albuquerque's San Jose well field. At the request of Environmental Improvement Division of the New Mexico Health and Environment Department, the U.S. Geolrigical Survey conducted a study to determine ground-water levels and flow direction.

Water levels were measured in 44 wells in a 64-square-mile area along the Rio Grande and adjacent areas during a period of near-maximum municipal pumpage. Based on the altitude of screened interval, wells were grouped into shallow (screened interval above an altitude of 4,800 feet) or deep (screened interval below an altitude of 4,800 feet) zones.

Ground water in the shallow zone generally moves from north to south parallel to flow in the Rio Grande. Ground water in the deep zone generally moves from the northwest to the east and southeast. A poorly developed cone of depression within the deep zone was present in the northeast. Water levels in wells were as much as 18 feet higher in the shallow zone than in the deep zone in the vicini ty of the San Jose well field, indicating a downward gradient.