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Paul J. Blanchard

Publications and source records attributed to Paul J. Blanchard.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2008

Precipitation, Ground-water Hydrology, and Recharge Along the Eastern Slopes of the Sandia Mountains, Bernalillo County, New Mexico

The spatial and temporal distribution of recharge to carbonate and clastic aquifers along the eastern slopes of the Sandia Mountains was investigated by using precipitation, water-level, dissolved chloride, and specific-conductance data. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bernalillo County Public Works Division, conducted a study to assess ground-water conditions and provide technical data that could be used as a basis for management and future planning of eastern Bernalillo County water resources. The intent of the investigation was to improve the current understanding of subsurface mechanisms controlling recharge dynamics in a geologically complex aquifer system. In the Sandia Mountains, precipitation events are generally limited to snowfalls in winter months and monsoon rainfall in late summer. Monthly meteorological data from weather stations in the study area indicate that monsoon rainfall during July and August constitutes close to one-third of annual precipitation totals. Following precipitation and snowmelt events, daily ground-water level data show low-amplitude, long-duration peaks in hydrographs of wells north and west of the Tijeras Fault. Hydrographs of monthly and biannual water-level data from across the study area show seasonal variation and water-level fluctuations in excess of 30 ft during a period of below-average precipitation. Water level observations in 67 percent of wells showing drought-induced water-level declines rebounded to at or near predrought conditions within 6 months of return to normal climate conditions. Cross-correlation of annual hydrologic data shows aquifer response to periods of monsoon recharge to persist from 1 to 6 months following events. The lag time between precipitation input and response of water levels or solute concentrations was largest near the Tijeras and Gutierrez Faults. These results indicate regional faults hydrologically isolate the Tijeras Graben from groundwater recharge originating at high elevations along the eastern slopes of the Sandia Mountains. Recharge rates calculated by using the chloride-mass-balance method for five springs located at the base of the Sandia Mountains ranged from 1 to 23 percent of annual precipitation.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2007

Questa baseline and pre-mining ground-water quality investigation 15.—Methods of phase II and III well installation and development and results of well logging, hydraulic testing, and water-level measurements in the Red River Valley, New Mexico, 2002-04

In April 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey and the New Mexico Environment Department began a cooperative study to infer the pre-mining ground-water chemistry at the Molycorp molybdenum mine site in the Red River Valley of north- central New Mexico. This report is one in a series of reports that can be used to determine pre-mining ground-water conditions at the mine site. Weathering of hydrothermally altered bedrock in the study area has resulted in steep, highly erosive, and sparsely vegetated scar areas that are clearly visible from the ground and in aerial photographs. Runoff from intense summer rainfall over tributary drainages containing scar areas can transport large quantities of sediment and form debris fans where these tributaries join the Red River. Twenty-nine observation wells were installed in three phases as part of this study in the Red River Valley and tributary drainages. Eight Phase II observation wells were drilled using an air-rotary/hammer rig. Three Phase II and 10 phase III small-diameter wells were installed using a direct-push rig. Lithologic logs were recorded for all eight Phase II drilled wells. Borehole geophysical logging (including natural gamma, induction, and single-detector neutron) was conducted in three Phase II wells. Aquifer tests conducted during 2003 to estimate the hydraulic properties of debris-flow and Red River alluvial deposits in and near Straight Creek included a flow-meter survey, slug tests, and a pumping test. Results of a flow-meter survey in well SC-7A indicated that about 77 percent of the water entered the well from a 10-foot-thick zone near the top of the screened interval and about 23 percent of the water entered the well from a 15-foot-thick zone near the bottom of the screened interval. Slug tests, performed in 11 wells during June 3-5, 2003, indicated that the mean and median estimated hydraulic conductivities for debris-flow deposits were 15.25 and 15.35 feet per day, respectively, for bedrock were 0.12 and 0.08 feet per day, respectively, and for mixed debris flow and Red River alluvium were 73-207 (estimated range) and 80 feet per day. In general, bedrock has the smallest hydraulic conductivity, debris-flow material has the next highest hydraulic conductivity, and mixed debris flow and Red River alluvium has the largest hydraulic conductivity. A pumping test conducted December 3-4, 2003, using well AWWT-1 as the pumped well, and wells AWWT-2, SC-5A, SC-5B, SC-7A, and SC-8A as observation wells, indicated estimated transmissivity of 12,000 to 34,000 feet squared per day and estimated hydraulic conductivity of 230 to 340 feet per day. Water-level measurements in wells SC-6A, SC-7A, SC-8A, and the Hottentot, Hansen, and La Bobita wells show that water levels typically rose rapidly during melting of the winter snowpack in the springtime and then generally declined during the rest of the year. The water-level rise in response to spring snowmelt occurred earlier and was smaller at larger distances from the Red River. Differences between the stage in the Red River and water levels in wells SC-8A and SC-9A, and the absence of water in well SC-9A at the time of well completion, indicate that the Red River has a poor hydraulic connection to the underlying ground-water system and the surface-water system is perched above the ground-water system at this site. Water levels in Phase III wells indicate that the Red River and the shallow ground-water system are connected hydraulically from near wells 4-1D and 4-1S downstream to near wells 2-1 and 2-2 but are poorly connected near the La Bobita well and well 1.

New Mexico↗
USGS2006

Ground-water hydrology and water quality of the Southern High Plains Aquifer, Cannon Air Force Base, Curry County, New Mexico, 1994-2005

In cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Geological Survey has collected hydrologic data about the Southern High Plains aquifer at Cannon Air Force Base in east-central New Mexico since 1994. Under the guidance of the State of New Mexico, ground-water quality of the aquifer has been analyzed as part of annual monitoring at regulated sites at the base. This report provides a summary and interpretation of all available hydrologic data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey for Cannon Air Force Base environmental managers for the regulated sites of Landfill 5 and the Sewage Lagoons between 1994 and 2005.

New Mexico↗
USGS2004

Precipitation; ground-water age; ground-water nitrate concentrations, 1995-2002; and ground-water levels, 2002-03 in Eastern Bernalillo County, New Mexico

The eastern Bernalillo County study area consists of about 150 square miles and includes all of Bernalillo County east of the crests of the Sandia and Manzanita Mountains. Soil and unconsolidated alluvial deposits overlie fractured and solution-channeled limestone in most of the study area. North of Interstate Highway 40 and east of New Mexico Highway 14, the uppermost consolidated geologic units are fractured sandstones and shales. Average annual precipitation at three long-term National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration precipitation and snowfall data-collection sites was 14.94 inches at approximately 6,300 feet (Sandia Ranger Station), 19.06 inches at about 7,020 feet (Sandia Park), and 23.07 inches at approximately 10,680 feet (Sandia Crest). The periods of record at these sites are 1933-74, 1939-2001, and 1953-79, respectively. Average annual snowfall during these same periods of record was 27.7 inches at Sandia Ranger Station, 60.8 inches at Sandia Park, and 115.5 inches at Sandia Crest. Seven precipitation data-collection sites were established during December 2000-March 2001. Precipitation during 2001-03 at three U.S. Geological Survey sites ranged from 66 to 94 percent of period-of-record average annual precipitation at corresponding National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration long-term sites in 2001, from 51 to 75 percent in 2002, and from 34 to 81 percent during January through September 2003. Missing precipitation records for one site resulted in the 34-percent value in 2003. Analyses of concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons CFC-11, CFC-12, and CFC-113 in ground-water samples from nine wells and one spring were used to estimate when the sampled water entered the ground-water system. Apparent ages of ground water ranged from as young as about 10 to 16 years to as old as about 20 to 26 years. Concentrations of dissolved nitrates in samples collected from 24 wells during 2001-02 were similar to concentrations in samples collected from the same wells during 1995, 1997, and (or) 1998. Nitrate concentrations in two wells were larger than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency primary drinking-water regulation of 10 milligrams per liter in 1998 and in 2001. Ground-water levels were measured during June and July 2002 and during June, July, and August 2003 in 18 monitoring wells. The median change in water level for all 18 wells was a decline of 2.03 feet.

New Mexico↗
USGS2002

Assessments of aquifer sensitivity on Navajo Nation and adjacent lands and ground-water vulnerability to pesticide contamination on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requested that the Navajo Nation conduct an assessment of aquifer sensitivity on Navajo Nation lands and an assessment of ground-water vulnerability to pesticide contamination on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project. Navajo Nation lands include about 17,000 square miles in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project in northwestern New Mexico is the largest area of agriculture on the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project began operation in 1976; presently (2001) about 62,000 acres are available for irrigated agriculture. Numerous pesticides have been used on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project during its operation. Aquifer sensitivity is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as 'The relative ease with which a contaminant [pesticide] applied on or near a land surface can migrate to the aquifer of interest. Aquifer sensitivity is a function of the intrinsic characteristics of the geologic material in question, any underlying saturated materials, and the overlying unsaturated zone. Sensitivity is not dependent on agronomic practices or pesticide characteristics.' Ground-water vulnerability is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as 'The relative ease with which a contaminant [pesticide] applied on or near a land surface can migrate to the aquifer of interest under a given set of agronomic management practices, pesticide characteristics, and aquifer sensitivity conditions.' The results of the aquifer sensitivity assessment on Navajo Nation and adjacent lands indicated relative sensitivity within the boundaries of the study area. About 22 percent of the study area was not an area of recharge to bedrock aquifers or an area of unconsolidated deposits and was thus assessed to have an insignificant potential for contamination. About 72 percent of the Navajo Nation study area was assessed to be in the categories of most potential or intermediate potential for contamination. About 6 percent of the study area was assessed to have the least potential for contamination, mostly in areas where the slope of the land surface is more than 12 percent. Nearly all fields on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project were assessed to have the most potential for contamination. The assessment of ground-water vulnerability to pesticide contamination on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project was based on pesticide application to various crops on part of the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project during 1997-99. The assessment indicated that ground water underlying fields of beans, wheat, barley, and alfalfa was most vulnerable to pesticide contamination; ground water underlying fields of corn and potatoes was intermediately vulnerable to pesticide contamination; and ground water underlying fields of hay was least vulnerable to pesticide contamination.

Arizona, New Mexico, Utah↗
USGS1999

Ground-water quality and susceptibility of ground water to effects from domestic wastewater disposal in eastern Bernalillo County, central New Mexico, 1990-91

Eastern Bernalillo County is a historically rural, mountainous area east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Historically, the primary economic activity consisted of subsistence farming and ranching and support of these activities from small communities. During the last 40 to 50 years, however, the area increasingly has become the site of residential developments. Homes in these developments typically are on 1- to 2-acre lots and are serviced by individual wells and septic systems. Between 1970 and 1990, the population of the area increased from about 4,000 to more than 12,000, and housing units increased from about 1,500 to more than 5,000. Results of analysis of water samples collected from 121 wells throughout eastern Bernalillo County in 1990 indicated that (1) total-nitrate concentrations in 10 samples exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency national primary drinking-water regulation maximum contaminant level of 10 milligrams per liter as nitrogen; (2) total-nitrate concentrations may be related to the length of time an area has been undergoing development; and (3) large dissolved-chloride concentrations may result from geologic origins, such as interbedded salt deposits or upward movement of saline ground water along faults and fractures, as well as from domestic wastewater disposal. Ground water throughout eastern Bernalillo County was assessed to be highly susceptible to contamination by overlying domestic wastewater disposal because (1) soils in more than 95 percent of eastern Bernalillo County were determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to have severe limitations for use as septic-system absorption fields and (2) a fractured carbonate geologic terrane, which typically has large secondary permeability and limited sorption capacity, is at the surface or underlying unconsolidated material in 73 percent of the area. Ground-water-level rises following an episodal precipitation event during July 22-27, 1991, were large and rapid, particularly in the fractured carbonate terrane. This response indicates a significant hydraulic connection between the land surface and the water table.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1990

Ground-water conditions in the Grand County area, Utah, with emphasis on the Mill Creek-Spanish Valley area

The Grand County area includes all of Grand County, the Mill Creek and Pack Creek drainages in San Juan County, and the area between the Colorado and Green Rivers in San Juan County. The Grand County area includes about 3,980 square miles, and the Mill Creek-Spanish Valley area includes about 44 square miles. The three principal consolidated-rock aquifers in the Grand County area are the Entrada, Navajo, and Wingate aquifers in the Entrada Sandstone, the Navajo Sandstone, and the Wingate Sandstone, and the principal consolidated-rock aquifer in the Mill Creek-Spanish Valley area is the Glen Canyon aquifer in the Glen Canyon Group, comprised of the Navajo Sandstone, the Kayenta Formation, and the Wingate Sandstone. Recharge to the Entrada, Navajo, and Glen Canyon aquifers typically occurs where the formations containing the aquifers crop out or are overlain by unconsolidated sand deposits. Recharge is enhanced where the sand deposits are saturated at a depth of more than about 6 feet below the land surface, and the effects of evaporation begin to decrease rapidly with depth. Recharge to the Wingate aquifer typically occurs by downward movement of water from the Navajo aquifer through the Kayenta Formation, and primarily occurs where the Navajo Sandstone, Kayenta Formation, and the Wingate Sandstone are fractured.

Utah↗
USGS1986

Ground-water conditions in the Lake Powell area, Utah

The Lake Powell area comprises about 2,450 square miles in south-central Utah. It is subdivided into three geographical areas by the Colorado and San Juan Rivers. The Henry Mountains area is north of the Colorado River, the Navajo Mountain area is south of the San Juan River, and the third area is between the Colorado and San Juan Rivers.

Utah↗
USGS1986

Ground-water conditions in the Kaiparowits Plateau area, Utah and Arizona, with emphasis on the Navajo Sandstone

This report presents results of investigation of ground-water conditions in the Kaiparowits Plateau area of south-central Utah and north-central Arizona (fig. 1). The area is under investigation for development of its large quantities of energy resources, primarily coal. Production and transportation of those energy resources would require attendant development of water resources. The purpose of this study was to determine the availability and quality of ground water in major aquifers in the area - namely aquifers in the Entrada, Navajo, and Wingate Sandstones; emphasis was on the Navajo Sandstone. The study was made by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights. Field work was done intermittently during July through October 1979, and October 1980 through October 1981.

Arizona, Utah↗