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<br />C 1613 <br /> <br />the range of 30 to greater than 100 feet per day; Thorn and others, 1993, table 2). The largest <br />known extent of these deposits is beneath the eastern part of Albuquerque in a south-trending <br />zone as much as 3 miles in width and greater than 1,000 feet in maximum thickness (Hawley <br />and others, 1995, p. 47). <br /> <br />In general, sediments in the middle and lower parts of the Santa Fe Group in the <br />Albuquerque area are less permeable than those in the upper part. In the Rio Rancho area <br />however, ground water is primarily withdrawn from the middle and lower parts of the Santa Fe <br />Group (J. W. Hawley, New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, oral cornrnun., <br />November, 1995). <br /> <br />The alluvium in the Rio Grande inner valley (fig. 2) consists of }:>ost-Santa Fe Group <br />deposits from the most resent erosion and deposition sequence of the Rio Grande (Hawley and <br />Haase, 1992, p. IT-7). This inner valley alluvium provides the hydraulic connection between the <br />Rio Grande surface-water system and the underlying Santa Fe Group aquifer system. The <br />channel and flood-plain sediments composing the inner valley alluvium form the shallow part of <br />the aquifer system. These sediments are as much as 130 feet thick (Hawley and Haase, 1992, p. <br />IT-7) and average about 80 feet thick. Post-Santa Fe Group deposits adjacent to the inner valley <br />are remnants of prior erosion and deposition sequences of the Rio Grande. These deposits are as <br />much as 200 feet thick, and, where exposed, form terraces along the margins of the inner valley <br />(Hawley and Haase, 1992, p. IT-7). For more detailed descriptions of the geologic and hydrologic <br />framework of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque area, the reader is referred <br />to Hawley and Haase (1992), Thorn and others (1993), and Hawley and others (in press). <br /> <br />Hydrologic relations between the Rio Grande surface-water system and the Santa Fe <br />Group aquifer system are complex in the interaction of hydrologic boundary conditions, aquifer <br />materials, aquifer stresses, and system response, A ground-water-flow model can help <br />understand these complexities and estimate the effects of particular stresses on the aquifer and <br />river system. The recently developed ground-water-flow model of the Albuquerque Basin <br />(Kernodle and others, 1995) can be a basis for developing this capability. The collection of <br />additional information on the components of the river/aquifer system outlined in this report can <br />be used to update and adjust the ground-water-flow model. The model can then be used to <br />quantify ground-water/ surface-water relations. <br /> <br />Simulations using the model of Kernodle and others (1995) are cited periodically in this <br />report to illustrllte the importance of particular components of the river/aquifer system and to <br />help identify additional data needs that would improve understanding of river/aquifer <br />hydrologic relations. Values of aquifer components used in the model are also cited throughout <br />this report for comparison with values reported from other sources. These comparisons help to <br />illustrate how well a component of the river/aquifer system is known. <br /> <br />Physical and Hydraulic Characteristics of System Components <br /> <br />Physical and hydraulic characteristics of the river / aquifer system control the movement of <br />water through the system. These components include the Rio Grande, canals, drains, Santa Fe <br />Group deposits, inner valley alluvium, hydraulic heads, and aquifer storage. <br /> <br />7 <br />