Groundwater Resources in Mora County: Conserving for Our Future By Kate Zeigler, Ph.D., CPG

Mora County stretches across a landscape that changes from high mountain peaks to the western High Plains along the Canadian River. For the western half of the county, snow and rain provide bountiful surface water resources that have been the lifeblood of the communities for generations. Watersheds like the Rio Mora and Rio Sapello, Coyote Creek, and other pathways, have helped move this water out onto the Plains. However, much of the eastern half of Mora County is dependent on groundwater as there are few surface waters resources available. And, in the face of seemingly never-ending drought, even these limited reserves of surface water are suffering.

But when we think about groundwater, it can be hard to picture what this really means. Groundwater is essentially invisible – we cannot see the shape of the aquifers below our feet and without scientific data about our local water tables, it’s difficult to assess whether our aquifers can keep up with the demands we place upon them. For several years now, Zeigler Geologic Consulting has partnered with the Mora-Wagon Mound SWCD to investigate the state of the aquifers that are the precious lifeline for our communities and agricultural producers. Twice a year, we check water levels in dozens of wells around the SWCD, take samples to observe water quality, and investigate recharge potential via isotopes and geologic mapping.

In general, the preliminary results are grim. Many of the wells we monitor show declining water tables and the majority of these wells either cannot receive recharge in a timely way because the aquifer is very deep or isolated from the surface geologically, or they don’t receive recharge because of the drought. Wells that can potentially recharge when the drought breaks are those that have shallow water tables and are near drainages. In addition, the geology under the ground is quite complicated and it takes time to figure it all out.

So what does this mean? Understanding the geohydrology of an area takes a lot of work and requires long-term monitoring to really get at how different aquifers in an area behave. And where should we go from here? For us, we feel that open communication among communities, producers, scientists, and policy makers is an absolute necessity – no one person or agency should be making decisions about our water resources without input from everyone involved. At the end of the day, decisions should be based on accurate data and we all need to husband water resources, be they surface or groundwater. And, take care of the groundwater and the groundwater will take care of you.