MODFLOW-LGR2 groundwater-flow model used to delineate transient areas contributing recharge and zones of contribution to selected wells in southeastern Albuquerque, New Mexico

A three-dimensional groundwater-flow model of a 73.2 square mile area in southeastern Albuquerque, New Mexico was designed and coupled to a regional (parent) model of the Middle Rio Grande Basin with the local-grid refinement numerical code MODFLOW-LGR2. This fine-gridded local (child) model was designed to simulate the response of the aquifer to pumping stresses and simulate advective groundwater flow. The child model was calibrated by inverse modeling by nonlinear regression (UCODE_2005) for 1949 to 2013 conditions, the period for which observation data was most complete and reliable. The simulation period spanned from predevelopment to future conditions (1900 to 2050). As part of an effort to protect the source water to selected wells near contaminated groundwater, simulations of groundwater flow and particle tracking were used to delineate transient areas contributing recharge and zones of contribution for water withdrawals in 2013 and for a future pumping scenario in 2050. The USGS data release contains all the input and output files and source codes for the simulations described in the associated report: https//doi.org/10.3133/sir20195052.