A groundwater flow model was constructed for the Rincon Valley area and Mesilla
Basin. The system is dominated by the complex interaction of the Rio Grande, canals, laterals,
and drains with groundwater pumping. The primary purpose of the model was to aid the New
Mexico -Texas Water Commission in assessing options for water resources development in the
Lower Rio Grand Basin from Caballo Reservoir in New Mexico to El Paso, Texas. One such
assessment was to evaluate the effect of secondary irrigation releases from Caballo Reservoir on
the water budget. In addition, the model will eventually be linked to a surface water model
(BESTSM) being utilized by the New Mexico -Texas Water Commission to evaluate water
supply alternatives for El Paso, Texas.
Stress periods were specified on a seasonal basis, a primary irrigation season from March
through October and a secondary irrigation season from November through February. Analysis
of model output indicates that groundwater pumping decreases Rio Grande flows, secondary
irrigation season releases do not alter the water budget significantly, and that recharge and
discharge from aquifer storage are strongly related to the season.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/617629 |
| Date | 30 September 1999 |
| Creators | Weeden, A. Curtis,Jr., Maddock, Thomas, III |
| Contributors | Department of Hydrology & Water Resources, The University of Arizona |
| Publisher | Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Technical Report |
| Source | Provided by the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources. |
| Rights | Copyright © Arizona Board of Regents |
| Relation | Technical Reports on Hydrology and Water Resources, No. 99-020 |
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