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, 80) estimated that more than 1,000 wells were constructed in the two valleys during this period. Many additional wells were constructed during 1963-66 as the result of shortages in surface water supply in those years. As of 1975, there were about 920 usable irrigation wells in the Mesilla Valley, most of which were about 100 feet deep and completed primarily in the flood- plain alluvium. A large number of wells were drilled deeper after 1975 in order to obtain water of better quality. Wilson (1984, p.1) reported that many deep irrigation wells were drilled in the central part of the Mesilla Valley in the 1970s. Wilson and others (1981, p.42) reported that the yields of the irrigation wells in the Mesilla Valley averaged about 1500 gpm and range from less than 500 gpm to more than 2500 gpm. Most of the pumping occurs when surface water supplies are limited, although some land in the Mesilla Valley is irrigated with only ground water ( ). Wilson and White (1981 p.41) documented EBIO's construction of five wells into the deposits of Santa Fe Group in 1973-75 to supplement its surface water supplies. These wells were constructed in the central part of the Mesilla Valley, about 7 miles south of Las Cruces. Their depths ranged from 370 to 686 feet. The yields of these wells range from 2,090 to 3,020 gpm. They were first used to provide supplemental irrigation water to EBIO users in 1976. The towns and cities in the Mesilla Valley obtain their water from ground water sources. Specifically, this includes the City of Las Cruces and New Mexico State University. The Las Cruces well field consists of more than 20 wells located primarily in the eastem part of the City, along Interstate 25 (PESI, 1995). In addition, the City of EI Paso has developed a well field, known as the Canutillo Well Field, west of the Rio Grande in the Texas portion of the Lower Mesilla Valley. The development of this well field began in the early 1950s, and more than 30 wells are involved at the present time. This well field, which is located along about fIVe miles of the river between the towns of Anthony and Canutillo, taps the shallow, medium, and deep aquifers of the Mesilla basin. The yields of these wells range from 1,000 to 2,000 gpm. White (1987) reported that the pumpage in 1979 was 1,147 acre-feet from the shallow aquifer, 10,364 acre-feet from the medium aquifer, and 10,765 acre-feet from the deep aquifer, for a total of 22,276 acre-feet. Water from the shallow aquifer is discharged into the Rio Grande, delivered to the Robertson ,.- r 2 - 13 v.) . "" ';"",,--"