Ground-water conditions in the vicinity of Rattlesnake Springs, Eddy County, New Mexico

Hale, W

The flows of Rattlesnake Springs, Blue Spring, and the Black River in the upper Black River valley in southwestern Eddy County, N, Mex., are utilized mostly for irrigation. Part of the water from Rattlesnake Springs also is pumped by the National Park Service for use at the Carlsbad Caverns about 5.5 miles distant. Concern over the possible effects of pumping of recently developed irrigation wells in the area on the surface-water supply prompted an investigation by the U S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the State Engineer of New Mexico and the National Park Service. The upper Black River valley is bounded on the northwest by the Guadalupe Mountains and along the southeast by hills of low relief which near the State line are called the Yeso Hills. The valley is 4 to 9 miles wide. The Black River, the principal stream, heads in the Guadalupe Mountains. Its course is normally dry in the mountains and across the alluvial fan at the mouth of Black Canyon. A perennial stretch of about 4 miles starts about 4 miles north of the State line. Below this stretch and in a northeastward direction the channel is normally dry for a distance of about 10 miles. From the lower end of the normally dry channel to the Pecos River, a distance of roughly 20 miles, the river has a perennial flow. The chief source of water in the lower perennial stretch of the Black River is Blue Spring. Alluvium, ranging in thickness up to 200 feet, is the principal source for important ground-water supplies in the upper Black River valley. Recharge to the alluvium probably occurs mostly from flood waters originating in the canyons of the bordering Guadalupe Mountains. These flood waters percolate into the alluvium in the canyons and the alluvial fans at the mouths of the canyons. Occasionally, flood waters reach the lower courses of the various draws. Water moves through the alluvium in a general northeastward direction down the valley of Black River. Accretions to the water in the alluvium occur, in part, by movement of water from adjacent shallow water-bearing beds in gypsum of the Castile formation. Recharge to the shallow aquifer in the Castile formation occurs mostly from precipitation in the area of outcrop of the formation. Water in the gypsum has a high calcium sulfate content, and where this water moves into the alluvium it mixes with water of better quality in the alluvium. Thus a progressive increase in mineral content occurs as the water moves through the alluvium down the valley.

Ground-water conditions in the vicinity of Rattlesnake Springs, Eddy County, New Mexico

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