Streamflow and Water-quality Trends of the Rio Chama and Rio Grande, Northern and Central New Mexico, Water Years 1985 to 2002 (original) (raw)

HYDROLOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL TRENDS AND PATTERNS IN THE UPPER RIO GRANDE, 1975 TO 1999

Journal of The American Water Resources Association, 2004

ABSTRACT: Hydrological and geochemical spatial patterns and temporal trends were analyzed using U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water quality data collected from 1975 to 1999 along the uppermost 600 km of the Rio Grande in Colorado and New Mexico. Data on discharge, specific conductivity (SC), total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, K+, HCO3−, SO42-, Cl−, F−, and SiO2 came from six USGS stations ranging from the Colorado-New Mexico border to below Albuquerque, New Mexico. Linear regression, Kendall's S, and Seasonal Kendall's S’ were used to detect trends, and ANOVA was used to analyze spatial differences between stations. Statistically significant increasing trends occurred in SC, TDS, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, K+, Cl−, and F−in the uppermost reaches, and significant decreasing trends of SC, TDS, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, HCO3−, and SO42-occurred at the lower stations around Albuquerque. Both fluoride concentrations and pH values increased at and below Albuquerque over the study period. Discharge data show an increasing trend across all stations. Spatially, data for dissolved substances show generally linear upstream to downstream increases in concentrations in the upper four stations, with several notable nonlinear increases at and below Albuquerque (SC, TDS, Na+, Cl−). Significant increases in pH appear at and below Albuquerque, relative to upstream stations, probably due to improved sewage treatment.

International Water Quality Management in the Lower Rio Grande/Rio Bravo, PRP 177

2013

Project staff are thankful for the advice of Julia Burch. Staff of the Texas Water Development Board provided thoughtful advice. Project participants thank Jayashree Vijalapuram, Alice Rentz, Amelia Altz-Stamm, and Lauren Jahnke for editorial assistance and guidance. The project also acknowledges the following people who consented to be interviewed: 1. On a scale of 1-5, how important is it to you that the Rio Grande be clean? Please circle one number.

Water-quality assessment of the Rio Grande Valley, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas; water-quality data for water-column, suspended-sediment, and bed-material samples collected at selected surface-water sites in the upper Rio Grande Basin, June and September 1994

Open-File Report, 1997

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the earth resources of the Nation and to provide information that will assist resource managers and policymakers at Federal, State, and local levels in making sound decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and trends is an important part of this overall mission. One of the greatest challenges faced by waterresources scientists is acquiring reliable information that will guide the use and protection of the Nation's water resources. That challenge is being addressed by Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resource agencies and by many academic institutions. These organizations are collecting water-quality data for a host of purposes that include: compliance with permits and water-supply standards; development of remediation plans for a specific contamination problem; operational decisions on industrial, wastewater, or watersupply facilities; and research on factors that affect water quality. An additional need for water-quality information is to provide a basis on which regional and national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise decisions must be based on sound information. As a society we need to know whether certain types of water-quality problems are isolated or ubiquitous, whether there are significant differences in conditions among regions, whether the conditions are changing over time, and why these conditions change from place to place and over time. The information can be used to help determine the efficacy of existing waterquality policies and to help analysts determine the need for and likely consequences of new policies. To address these needs, the Congress appropriated funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot program in seven project areas to develop and refine the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. In 1991, the USGS began full implementation of the program. The NAWQA Program builds upon an existing base of water-quality studies of the USGS, as well as those of other Federal, State, and local agencies. The objectives of the NAWQA Program are to: Describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams, rivers, and aquifers. Describe how water quality is changing over time. Improve understanding of the primary natural and human factors that affect water-quality conditions. This information will help support the development and evaluation of management, regulatory, and monitoring decisions by other Federal, State, and local agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources. The goals of the NAWQA Program are being achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations of 60 of the Nation's most important river basins and aquifer systems, which are referred to as study units. These study units are distributed throughout the Nation and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic settings. More than two-thirds of the Nation's freshwater use occurs within the 60 study units and more than two-thirds of the people served by public water-supply systems live within their boundaries. National synthesis of data analysis, based on aggregation of comparable information obtained from the study units, is a major component of the program. This effort focuses on selected water-quality topics using nationally consistent information. Comparative studies will explain differences and similarities in observed water-quality conditions among study areas and will identify changes and trends and their causes. The first topics addressed by the national synthesis are pesticides, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and aquatic biology. Discussions on these and other waterquality topics will be published in periodic summaries of the quality of the Nation's ground and surface water as the information becomes available. This report is an element of the comprehensive body of information developed as part of the NAWQA Program. The program depends heavily on the advice, cooperation, and information from many Federal, State, interstate, Tribal, and local agencies and the public. The assistance and suggestions of all are greatly appreciated.

Water quality in the Laguna de Bustillos of Chihuahua, Mexico

2005

This paper discusses the water within Laguna de Bustillos, Mexico from a qualitative perspective. The following variables were measured at 18 randomly selected sampling sites: lithium (Li), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), thallium (Ti), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn). Also measured were pH, total solids, total nitrogen (Nammoniacal and N-organic), temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), and coliforms (total and fecal). A Kruskal-Wallis test was performed for all variables. Of all metal variables, Fe and Mn were present in excessive amounts at all sites reaching values higher than 100 ppm and 1.00 ppm, respectively. Variables with the most undesirable levels were total coliform and fecal coliform that reached values as high as 460*10 NMP/100mL in a sampling point close to an urban city called Cuauhtemoc. These results show the high levels of some cont...

An Assessment of Stream Water Quality of the Rio San Juan, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, 1995–1996

Journal of Environmental Quality, 2002

Good water quality of the Rio San Juan is critical for economic development of northeastern Mexico. However, water quality of the river has rapidly degraded during the last few decades. Societal concerns include indications of contamination problems and increased water diversions for agriculture, residential, and industrial water supplies. Eight sampling sites were selected along the river where water samples were collected monthly for 10 mo (October 1995-July 1996). The concentration of heavy metals and chemical constituents and measurements of bacteriological and physical parameters were determined on water samples. In addition, river discharge was recorded. Constituent concentrations in 18.7% of all samples exceeded at least one water quality standard. In particular, concentrations of fecal and total coliform bacteria, sulfate, detergent, dissolved solids, Al, Ba, Cr, Fe, and Cd, exceeded several water quality standards. Pollution showed spatial and temporal variations and trends. These variations were statistically explained by spatial and temporal changes of constituent inputs and discharge. Samples collected from the site upstream of El Cuchillo reservoir had large constituent concentrations when discharge was small; this reservoir supplies domestic and industrial water to the city of Monterrey.

Middle Rio Grande Surface and Well Water Quality and the Health Implications to Humans

2017

This professional project reviews the water quality along The Middle Rio Grande in New Mexico from the Cochiti Dam to the town of Bernalillo to San Acacia. This project focuses on the quality of the surface and well water and its implications to human health. The State of New Mexico Environment Department provided historical data of the well water quality in Albuquerque and the surrounding area. This project focuses on the analysis of chemical and microbiological testing in the areas of the North Valley, South Valley and Albuquerque Acres. The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BMEP) provided historical data that identifies surface and well water quality using a chemical and biological panel of testing. The issue of well water in a state such as New Mexico is a major concern. For households served by private wells, wastewater treatment and disposal are usually done by septic and leaching systems. Sewage discharge from households that are close to one another could create a cluster of disease.

Water Quality of a Reservoir and Its Major Tributary Located in East-Central Mexico

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2014

A reservoir with ecological and economic importance and its major tributary, localized in east-central Mexico, were studied. The aim of this work was to know the physicochemical water characteristics of both water bodies and to contrast these by their different uses, and also estimate overall water quality using a Water Quality Index (WQI). Water samples from the reservoir and the tributary were obtained in different climatic seasons. In the tributary, anoxic and hypoxic conditions and high levels of organic matter, orthophosphate, and ammonium showed that this is strongly impacted by wastewater discharges and that the water is not suitable for different uses; independently of the season, the WQI showed "poor" quality (34.4-47.2). In contrast, in the reservoir a better water quality was determined; the WQI in the sampling months ranged from 72.1-76.6 ("good" quality), and spatially, this was from 66.5-79.5 ("fair" and "good" quality).

Water Quality at the Cárdenas-Comalcalco Basin, México

Water Quality, Soil and Managing Irrigation of Crops, 2012

Water is a resource with an economic, social and environmental value. For this reason when decisions concerning water management, analysis and planning are made, the relationships between the economy, society and the environment should be considered. The study of water resources has great importance when it is developed in a basin's geographical frame. A basin is defined as an area in which rainfall flows through a number of different water channels which in the end converge into one major water body. The water flows towards a common point, which forms a hydrographic unit made up of a group of river bed systems, summits and the outlets, whose limits are marked by "watershed lines" (Dourojeanni and