Rapid Recharge Events in a Karstic Aquifer: An Example from Lake of the White Roses, Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico

Multi-tracer investigation of groundwater residence time in a karstic aquifer: Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, USA

“…Such a young age for groundwater in the artesian aquifer would imply a particle flow velocity of about 20 m/day (Gross et al, 1982), and suggests values of hydraulic conductivity that exceed 400 m/day (4.6x10 -3 m/s, or ~4,800 darcies permeability). These figures, although remarkably high for a typical porous medium, are not inconsistent with large-scale conduit flow through a cavernous limestone aquifer (e.g., Heath, 1983;White, 1988;Land and Burger, 2008).…”

Overview of Fresh and Brackish Water Quality in New Mexico

“…In New Mexico, the reef serves as the host rock for the Big Room in Carlsbad Cavern. A few miles northeast of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the reef dips into the subsurface and passes beneath the city of Carlsbad, where it forms a karstic aquifer that is the principal source of fresh water for that community (Land and Burger, 2008). The Capitan Reef continues in the subsurface east and south into Lea County, then south for ~150 miles to its southeasternmost outcrop in the Glass Mountains of west Texas (Figure 28).…”

“…Evidence of cavernous porosity and conduit flow is well documented within the Reef aquifer, indicated by blowing wells and bit drops during drilling operations; and by the presence of water in channels and cavities at different horizons within the reef (Hendrickson and Jones, 1952;Motts, 1968). Carlsbad Cavern may thus be thought of as an upper end-member example of cavernous porosity development within the Capitan Formation (Land and Burger, 2008). Fresh water is present in the aquifer only in the immediate vicinity of its recharge area in the Guadalupe Mountains.…”