Spatial analysis of vertical leakage in overdrafted aquifers: The Hueco bolson aquifer, Texas, 1956–1995

The ground-water aquifers that supply the El Paso (United States)–Ciudad Juarez (Mexico) region with fresh water are being depleted faster than they can replenish themselves through natural or induced recharge. This condition of aquifer overdraft has produced water level declines in the Hueco bolson aquifer underlying the study area and threatens water quality deterioration. Projections of future water demand indicate that ground-water supplies in the El Paso–Juarez Valley may not be sustainable beyond the year 2030. A steady-state, three-layer model of the Hueco bolson aquifer underlying the El Paso–Juarez Valley was developed to characterize vertical leakage, an indicator of ground-water extraction impacts in the study area. Based on the conceptualization of aquifer dynamics as a spatial process, a geographic information system was implemented to map and process hydrologic and geologic variables, thus allowing the calculation of the spatial pattern of vertical leakage in the Hueco bolson aquifer and how it changed in the period between 1956 and 1995. The spatial hydrologic method developed for change detection of aquifer leakage provides an important management tool in overdrafted aquifers. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.