Hydrogeology of the Ortiz Mountains and vicinity
— John W. Shomaker

Runoff from the Ortiz Mountains recharges sedimentary rocks peripheral to the range at about 1480 acre-feet per year, and moves radially away, draining to Arroyo Tuerto, Arroyo la Joya, Galisteo Creek and the Rio Grande. A small proportion emerges as springs. Transmissivity of the sedimentary beds is markedly enhanced in and near the Golden fault zone. Within the Ortiz range, the small recharge moves vertically, mostly in fractures, under unsaturated conditions; except for the Golden fault zone, which receives large recharge and is saturated to an elevation of about 7200 ft at Carache Canyon, the top of the saturated zone within the mountains may be below 6800 ft. Transmissivity of the fault zone is 400-440 ft²/day.