Technical Report

Riparian Groundwater Models for the Middle Rio Grande: ESA Collaborative Program FY07, Model Refinement

URL: https://webapps.usgs.gov/mrgescp/documents/Papadopulos-and-NMISC_2008_Riparian-Groundwater-Models-for-the-MRG-ESA-Collaborative-Program-FY07-Model-Refinement.pdf

Date: 2008/12/01

Author(s): S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc., NMISC

Publication: Report prepared for Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program, 29 p.

Abstract:

Eight high-resolution groundwater models of the near-river zone (riparian groundwater models) have been developed for the Middle Rio Grande from Cochiti Dam to Elephant Butte Reservoir, as part of a multi-year project with funding from the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Act Collaborative Program (ESA Collaborative Program) and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission (NMISC). This suite of models addresses the gap between the capabilities of other existing hydrologic models of the Middle Rio Grande system and the needs of water supply and water restoration planners to conduct detailed surface water/groundwater evaluations in the near-river zone of the Rio Grande. The models have been developed for specific reaches of the Middle Rio Grande (Figure 1.1) over a period of several years beginning in 2004.

This report describes refinements made to six of the riparian-zone groundwater models, those developed between 2004 and 2007 for the reaches from Cochiti to the northern boundary of Bosque del Apache. Model refinements include updating to a more recent version of the surface water routing model used for specification of surface water boundary conditions, incorporating newly obtained channel elevation survey data for drains, and, additional model calibration using flow and water-level data from 2007 and 2008.