Our Ground Water Source

The water-bearing layers of rock and soil beneath the Utility service area are fractured and offset. These fractures (called faults) can prevent water from moving freely. This helps explain why water quality varies from well to well, even when each well pumps from the same aquifer.

The aquifer providing our drinking water is the blue area shown above, stretching from Cochiti Reservoir on the north to San Acacia on the south, and from the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque to the hills just west of the Rio Puerco.

Toda nuestra agua potable viene del manto acuífero que subyace el Valle del Middle Rio Grande. El acuífero es un recurso vital del cual depende no sólo Albuquerque, sino que la totalidad del Valle del Middle Rio Grande.

For many years, ground water pumped from the Santa Fe Group Aquifer has been our only water supply source. In 2007, 90 wells pumped 32.5 billion gallons of water from the Santa Fe Group Aquifer.

The Water Utility monitors both the water level and water quality in each well. Water level measurements have shown significant decline in some parts of the aquifer. Continued pumping at current rates could damage the aquifer itself and cause subsidence in some areas. Studies have shown that only about half of the water pumped from the aquifer is being replenished; the rest is “mined” – lost forever. For more information on aquifer water levels, see Securing Our Future Water Supply.

Water Quality Specialists collect samples each year from every well to monitor the chemical and biological characteristics of the wells. While water quality in a single well does not vary much from year to year, water quality in wells in different parts of the aquifer can vary significantly. Water quality in wells near known or suspected soil or ground water contamination is monitored more frequently.

The aquifer is a vital resource on which not only Albuquerque, but the entire Middle Rio Grande Valley depends for drinking water.

Source Water Assessment

In 2002, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) conducted a Source Water Assessment to determine how susceptible each well is to contamination. NMED reported that the Utility is well maintained and operated and that the wells are generally protected from potential sources of contamination.

Wells near known contamination sites are ranked highly susceptible to contamination. Potential sources of contamination include businesses that use hazardous chemicals such as automotive repair shops, gas stations, dry cleaners, and paint and hardware stores, car washes, construction sites, golf courses, interstate highways and city streets, military facilities, sewer lines and septic tanks, and unlined arroyos, ditches, and drainage canals.

Wells near known or suspected soil or ground water contamination sites are monitored more frequently. Traces of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) have been detected in wells near the San Jose Superfund site on south Broadway. Low levels of VOCs have also been detected in wells in the vicinity of the Buena Vista and Coal Avenue leaking underground storage tank site and the Yale and Central site. Clean-up of ground water contamination at I-25 and Jefferson has eliminated traces of VOCs previously detected in a nearby well.

To request a copy of the Source Water Assessment for the Albuquerque Water System, System Number 10701, contact NMED Drinking Water District I Office in Albuquerque at 222-9500. Please include your name, address, and telephone number and the name and number of the Utility in your request. More information on the NMED Source Water Assessment Program is available at the NMED website.

San Juan-Chama and the Drinking Water Project

In the fall of 2008, the Drinking Water Project will begin diverting San Juan-Chama river water to a new, state-of-the-art water treatment plant. The finished water will be distributed to customers for drinking water and will be blended with ground water supplies during the summer or in times of drought. Customers will continue to receive high quality drinking water, while we transition to a sustainable water supply – one that we can count on in perpetuity. But, more importantly, reducing dependence on the aquifer will allow it to recover, enabling us to draw from it as a drought reserve in times of minimal precipitation.

The Drinking Water Project Pilot Plant is already in operation. The pilot contains all of the equipment and water treatment processes of the full-size plant. We are gaining operations experience, while we monitor the quality of the source water and the water produced. For each production event, source water is monitored for a long list of substances:

• Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater discharges or farming.
• Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.
• Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
• Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or the result of human activity.

Water Authority Water Quality Protection Board

The Water Authority, the City of Albuquerque, and Bernalillo County have worked together for many years to find and clean up contaminated ground water and promote coordinated protection and prudent use of ground water throughout the region. The Water Protection Advisory Board oversees ground water protection activities as defined in the Groundwater Protection Policy and Action Plan (GPPAP). The GPPAP is being updated and expanded to incorporate surface water protection goals, policies, and objectives. Existing surface water quality monitoring efforts and protection programs will be identified to prioritize and protect against potential hazards to surface water quality in the region. Call 768-3633 for meeting schedules and educational materials.