scholarly journals Groundwater quality in the Rio Grande aquifer system, southwestern United States

Fact Sheet ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
MaryLynn Musgrove ◽  
Laura M. Bexfield
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
Aquifer System

scholarly journals Salinity Contributions from Geothermal Waters to the Rio Grande and Shallow Aquifer System in the Transboundary Mesilla (United States)/Conejos-Médanos (Mexico) Basin

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Jeff D. Pepin ◽  
Andrew J. Robertson ◽  
Shari A. Kelley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Shallow Aquifer ◽  
Geothermal Systems ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Dissolved Solids ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Groundwater Flux ◽  
Shallow Aquifer System ◽  
Mexico Basin

Freshwater scarcity has raised concerns about the long-term availability of the water supplies within the transboundary Mesilla (United States)/Conejos-Médanos (Mexico) Basin in Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua. Analysis of legacy temperature data and groundwater flux estimates indicates that the region’s known geothermal systems may contribute more than 45,000 tons of dissolved solids per year to the shallow aquifer system, with around 8500 tons of dissolved solids being delivered from localized groundwater upflow zones within those geothermal systems. If this salinity flux is steady and eventually flows into the Rio Grande, it could account for 22% of the typical average annual cumulative Rio Grande salinity that leaves the basin each year—this salinity proportion could be much greater in times of low streamflow. Regional water level mapping indicates upwelling brackish waters flow towards the Rio Grande and the southern part of the Mesilla portion of the basin with some water intercepted by wells in Las Cruces and northern Chihuahua. Upwelling waters ascend from depths greater than 1 km with focused flow along fault zones, uplifted bedrock, and/or fractured igneous intrusions. Overall, this work demonstrates the utility of using heat as a groundwater tracer to identify salinity sources and further informs stakeholders on the presence of several brackish upflow zones that could notably degrade the quality of international water supplies in this developed drought-stricken region.

scholarly journals Combining Uranium, Boron, and Strontium Isotope Ratios (234U/238U, δ11B, 87Sr/86Sr) to Trace and Quantify Salinity Contributions to Rio Grande River in Southwestern United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Garcia ◽  
Pascale Louvat ◽  
Jerome Gaillardet ◽  
Syprose Nyachoti ◽  
Lin Ma
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Critical Zone ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
Isotopic Compositions ◽  
Rio Grande River

In semi-arid to arid regions, both anthropogenic sources (urban and agriculture) and deeper Critical Zone (groundwater with long flow paths and water residence times) may play an important role in controlling chemical exports to rivers. Here, we combined two anthropogenic isotope tracers: uranium isotope ratios (234U/238U) and boron isotope ratios (δ11B), with the 87Sr/86Sr ratios to identify and quantify multiple solute (salinity) sources in the Rio Grande river in southern New Mexico and western Texas. The Rio Grande river is a major source of freshwater for irrigation and municipal uses in southwestern United States. There has been a large disagreement about the dominant salinity sources to the Rio Grande and particularly significant sources are of anthropogenic (agriculture practices and shallow groundwater flows, groundwater pumping, and urban developments) and/or geological (natural groundwater upwelling) origins. Between 2014 and 2016, we collected monthly river samples at 15 locations along a 200-km stretch of the Rio Grande river from Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico to El Paso, Texas, as well as water samples from agricultural canals and drains, urban effluents and drains, and groundwater wells. Our study shows that due to the presence of localized and multiple salinity inputs, total dissolved solids (TDS) and isotope ratios of U, B, and Sr in the Rio Grande river show high spatial and temporal variability. Several agricultural, urban, and geological sources of salinity in the Rio Grande watershed have characteristic and distinguishable U, Sr, and B isotope signatures. However, due to the common issue of overlapping signatures as identified by previous tracer studies (such as δ18O, δD, δ34S), no single isotope tracer of U, Sr, or B isotopes was powerful enough to distinguish multiple salinity sources. Here, combining the multiple U, Sr, and B isotope and elemental signatures, we applied a multi-tracer mass balance approach to quantify the relative contributions of water mass from the identified various salinity end members along the 200-km stretch of the Rio Grande during different river flow seasons. Our results show that during irrigation (high river flow) seasons, the Rio Grande had uniform chemical and isotopic compositions, similar to the Elephant Butte reservoir where water is stored and well-mixed, reflecting the dominant contribution from shallow Critical Zone in headwater regions in temperate southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. In non-irrigation (low flow) seasons when the river water is stored at Elephant Butte reservoir, the Rio Grande river at many downstream locations showed heterogeneous chemical and isotopic compositions, reflecting variable inputs from upwelling of groundwater (deeper CZ), displacement of shallow groundwater, agricultural return flows, and urban effluents. Our study highlights the needs of using multi-tracer approach to investigate multiple solutes and salinity sources in rivers with complex geology and human impacts.

scholarly journals Phytophthora Species in Rivers and Streams of the Southwestern United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (15) ◽  
pp. 4696-4704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rio A. Stamler ◽  
Soumalia Sanogo ◽  
Natalie P. Goldberg ◽  
Jennifer J. Randall
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Phytophthora Species ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rivers And Streams ◽  
San Juan River ◽  
Rio Grande River ◽  
Prevalent Species

ABSTRACTPhytophthoraspecies were isolated from rivers and streams in the southwestern United States by leaf baiting and identified by sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The major waterways examined included the Rio Grande River, Gila River, Colorado River, and San Juan River. The most prevalent species identified in rivers and streams werePhytophthora lacustrisandP. riparia, both members ofPhytophthoraITS clade 6.P. gonapodyides,P. cinnamomi, and an uncharacterizedPhytophthoraspecies in clade 9 were also recovered. In addition, six isolates recovered from the Rio Grande River were shown to be hybrids ofP. lacustris×P. riparia. Pathogenicity assays usingP. ripariaandP. lacustrisfailed to produce any disease symptoms on commonly grown crops in the southwestern United States. Inoculation ofCapsicum annuumwithP. ripariawas shown to inhibit disease symptom development when subsequently challenged withP. capsici, a pathogenicPhytophthoraspecies.IMPORTANCEManyPhytophthoraspecies are significant plant pathogens causing disease on a large variety of crops worldwide. Closer examinations of streams, rivers, and forest soils have also identified numerousPhytophthoraspecies that do not appear to be phytopathogens and likely act as early saprophytes in aquatic and saturated environments. To date, thePhytophthoraspecies composition in rivers and streams of the southwestern United States has not been evaluated. This article details a study to determine the identity and prevalence ofPhytophthoraspecies in rivers and streams located in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Texas. Isolated species were evaluated for pathogenicity on crop plants and for their potential to act as biological control agents.

scholarly journals Deep groundwater quality in the southwestern United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 034004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Kang ◽  
James E Ayars ◽  
Robert B Jackson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
Deep Groundwater
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