New Mexico; Middle Rio Grande basin study

The Middle Rio Grande Basin, the area within the Rio Grande Valley extending from Cochiti Dam downstream to San Acacia, is the focus of a 5-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies to improve understanding of the area's water resources. The Santa Fe Group aquifer is the main source of municipal water. The New Mexico Office of the State Engineer manages the water resources in the basin and has declared the basin a "critical basin"--a ground-water basin faced with rapid economic and population growth for which technical information about the available water supply is inadequate. The study began in 1995, and it is scheduled to be completed in 2000.