Potentiometric surfaces, summer 2013 and winter 2015, and select hydrographs for the Southern High Plains aquifer, Cannon Air Force Base, Curry County, New Mexico

Potentiometric surface map of the Southern High Plains aquifer in the Cannon Air Force Base area, Curry County, New Mexico, 2020

“…The Dockum Group and Chinle Formation have been used interchangeably in the past to refer to the uppermost rocks underlying the Ogallala Formation; the Chinle Formation is the uppermost unit of the Dockum Group. Although most recent literature has transitioned to using the more general term "Dockum Group," some references cited in this report include the use of the term "Chinle Formation" (Collison, 2016;McGowen and others, 1977). For continuity and to reduce confusion, this report uses the term "Dockum Group" throughout.…”

“…The hydrographs were created for four wells with the most complete and longest running groundwater-level records and were selected to represent areas on and around Cannon AFB. The wells used to create the hydrographs are similar to those in Collison (2016), except for well 26, which was inaccessible in winter 2020. Groundwater levels at these four wells are measured up to twice a year by the USGS in cooperation with the New Mexico Office of State Engineer.…”

“…The wells measured in this study were assumed to be screened in the Ogallala Formation, with the total depth of the wells generally coinciding with the top of the Dockum Group. This assumption is based on drilling logs, a previous USGS report (Collison, 2016), and discussions with local farmers and drillers. Well identifiers (IDs) 2 through 129 are numbered in accordance with wells that were accessible and in Collison (2016), whereas well IDs 200 through 232 are new locations that were added to fill in data gaps and improve the accuracy of the potentiometric surface.…”

“…Declining groundwater levels and the potential impact on water resources has necessitated an up-to-date review of the potentiometric surface to evaluate the availability of water resources for future use (Langman and others, 2006). A groundwater-level survey with associated hydrographs and maps of the potentiometric surface (the surface representing the hydraulic head, the altitude to which groundwater will rise in a tightly cased well) was completed in 2013 and 2015 (Collison, 2016) to investigate the possible effects of seasonal differences in groundwater use (summer and winter) on groundwater-flow directions in the vicinity of Cannon AFB.…”

Mapping the altitude of the top of the Dockum Group and paleochannel analysis using surface geophysical methods on and near Cannon Air Force Base in Curry County, New Mexico, 2020

“…Data and information from previous studies were used to guide the assessment described herein. Previous USGS studies include Collison (2016), Langman and others (2006), and Langman and others (2004). A previous study by Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Management (AECOM, 2020) assessed the location of the paleochannels on and near Cannon AFB by using available borehole data from the New Mexico Water Rights Reporting System (NMWRRS) database and the Cannon AFB Installation Restoration Program.…”