Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Laura Medrano
Resident
2765 Judy Rd SW
Albuquerque, NM 87105

April 30, 2021

Wayne Canon
Water Rights District
5550 San Antonio Dr NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109-4127

Dear Mr. Canon,

In the following text, it is a summary and recommendation of the groundwater

contamination that is affecting Albuquerque, NM. In this recommendation
report, I discuss the causes and effects of the groundwater contamination that
has been occurring for years now. I also included multiple methods in how to fix
this issue and potentially not let it happen again.

Many of the information included was found in the internet. I will include all the
resources I used to acquire this information.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email lamedrano@unm.edu

and or call 5052677597.

Lastly, thank you for taking your time to view this recommendation report.

Thank you,

Laura Medrano
Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Contaminated
Groundwater:
Saving the Water In New
Mexico
By: Laura Medrano
Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Table of Contents:
Abstract………………………………………………………………………1

Problem Statement…………………………………………...…………2-3

Issue Recommendation Statement………..…………………………..4

Analyzing Recommendations…………………………………………5-6

Glossary…………………………………………………………………….7-8

Work Cited…………………………………………………………………..9
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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Abstract:
The purpose of this report is to discuss the health hazards the ground water
contamination in New Mexico is causing. The cause and affects will first be
discusses. It will explain how having toxic chemicals in the groundwater won’t
just affect the ecosystem, but it also affects the population ins New Mexico. I will
recommend a few helpful suggestions that will help the issue and then these
suggestions will be examine in depth with background information to back up
my statement. This is a very important issue that must be discussed and fixed as
soon as possible before it continues to get worse. This recommendations report
will overall cover everything that has to do with the issue occurring and how to
fix it.
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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Problem Statement

In the 1980s, the Air Force ignored that there was a problem going on with the
underground fuel system. It wasn’t until 1999 when it started it become very
obvious the fuel was leaking. There has now been 1100 of New Mexico’s water
systems that receive safety violation between 2004 in 2006. Even now the Air
Force has not yet fully described why they have not done anything since the
1980s to stop the problem from growing and or to even make any actions now.

“The state environment department ground water quality bureau

reports more than 60 ongoing cleanups of water contamination
from chemicals including diesel, nitrate and volatile organic
compounds” - EDF

Since this problem has been occurring for many years now, there has been up
to 24,000,000 gallons of jet fuel and oil spilled. The leak came from the pipes at
the Kirtland Air Force Base and has traveled into the aquifers near Albuquerque.
The contaminated ground water is traveling down Albuquerque and almost a
mile away from the drinking water wells. These toxic chemicals contain
benzene, toluene and various aliphatic hydrocarbons with ethylene dibromide.
All of these compounds that are carried by theses toxic chemicals can trigger
cancers if the drinking water is contaminated.

Since 2015 the Air Force has been working with the Environment Department to
start cleaning the contamination in the underground water. They are also
monitoring the waters near the closest drinking wells to ensure the drinking water
has not been contaminated.
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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Although there has been an effort in cleaning up all the toxic chemicals that
were released, this problem has been going on for 20 years and just recent six
years of cleaning it will not help the contamination to get cleaned any time
soon. Yet, what about the water that is used at homes and workplaces to help
clean our hands, etc. There has yet not been an assurance that the population
is using contaminated water to clean clothes, wash hands, etc. More has to be
done to assure that the groundwater is

This is a map that shows where the contaminated water has reached along with were each well
in Albuquerque is located.
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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Issue Recommendation Statement

• Manage Toxic Waste

At locations such as the Air Force Base and anywhere else where
toxic waste is disposed constantly, the city should build hazardous
waste tanks and drip pads nearby that work properly and are
check constantly for any leaks by the city.

• Modeling the Contaminant Plume

By using well-data, the hydrologist will use a computer program that
contains information of the aquifer and the direction and rate flow
of groundwater. This will model the plume and predict
contaminations through the water.

• Bioremediation
Bioengineered microorganisms are injected into the plume that is
contaminated to consume the toxins.

• Chemical Remediation
A chemical inserted into the aquifer so the contamination can be
destroyed. These acids can neutralize contamination and cause
pollution to precipitate from the aquifer.

• Regular Checks
Continuing on checking and doing clean ups in the wells are good,
but this should be done constantly anywhere there is potentially
chemical waste being leaked.
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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico 6

Analyzing Recommendations

1. Manage Toxic Waste:

Creating a hazardous waste tanks nearby will help keep toxic chemicals
stored properly. The best way to create these tanks is to use sealable
containers that will prevent the release of any leakage.
There also shouldn’t just be one waste tank every few miles from the chemical
toxins are regularly released, there should be a tank for each place that
releases fuel and oil to be stored so there wouldn’t be an overflow of other
locations and will decrease the possibility of a leakage occurring. Having drip
pads in each tank can also decrease the chances of having toxic chemicals
to reach the groundwater pipes. Extra protection is good for the environment
but also for the people that are afraid of having their drinking water
contaminated after one slip up.

2. Modeling the Contaminant Plume:

Modeling the contaminant plume will respond to a contaminant source
control. Using well-data, information can be detected on rate and direction of
the water flow which can help predict when there will be a dispersal of the
contamination through the water. With this, we can determine if the toxic
chemicals would reach of drinking water wells and when that can happen.
With this information, it will create an advantage to start doing more cleaning
around the drinking wells and maybe go to extreme measurements to placing
boundaries to the water can stop flowing further. One down fall of this is that
drilling test wells to monitor the pollution can be expensive.
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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

3. Bioremediation
Bioengineered microorganisms are injected into the groundwater so the
contaminated water can be consumed. Air is also pumped into the water so
that the water can encourage growth and reproduction of the microbes.
Doing bioremediation can be relatively inexpensive but there will have to be
an underground barrier built in to isolate the contaminated water from the rest
of the aquifer. Doing this also included doing chemical remediation.

4. Chemical Remediation
A chemical is pumped into the water that won’t hard or cause more
contamination, the only thing this chemical will do is destroy the
contamination. This chemical will react with the pollutant that is pumped into
the plume to neutralize it. Some of these chemicals are hydrogen peroxide,
ozone gas, potassium permanganate, and or persulfates. Either one of these
chemicals will help kill the polluted groundwater. Just like the bioremediation,
this remediation is also not that expensive.

5. Regular Checks
Having regular checks should be one of the main priorities that the city should
have. Documented weakly inspections in the waste storage areas will avoid
any problems in the future if chemical toxins where to be leaked and will be
fixed immediately before it can get worse. This will help reveal small problems
that can easily be fixed to prevent the problem to become bigger and cause
serious issues down the road.
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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Glossary

Aliphatic Hydrocarbons: are based on chains of C atoms. There are three types
of aliphatic hydrocarbons. Alkanes are aliphatic hydrocarbons with only single
covalent bonds. Alkenes are hydrocarbons that contain at least one C–C
double bond, and alkynes are hydrocarbons that contain a C–C triple bond.

Aquifer: a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater.

Chemicals: a compound or substance that has been purified or prepared,

especially artificially.

Consume: use up (a resource).

Contaminant: a polluting or poisonous substance that makes something impure.

Ecosystem: a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical

environment.

Benzene: a colorless volatile liquid hydrocarbon present in coal tar and

petroleum and used in chemical synthesis. Its use as a solvent has been reduced
because of its carcinogenic properties.

Ethylene Dibromide: past use as an additive to leaded gasoline and as

a fumigant. Ethylene dibromide is extremely toxic to humans.

Groundwater: water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in

rock.

Hazardous: risky; dangerous.

Hydrogen Peroxide: a colorless, viscous, unstable liquid with strong oxidizing

properties, commonly used in diluted form in disinfectants and bleaches.

Hydrologist: a person who studies water on the earth.

Modeling: devise a representation, especially a mathematical one, of (a

phenomenon or system)

Neutralize: render (something) ineffective or harmless by applying an opposite

force or effect.
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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Leakage: the accidental admission or escape of a fluid or gas through a hole or

crack.

Ozone Gas: a colorless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odor and powerful
oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet
light. It differs from normal oxygen (O2) in having three atoms in its molecule
(O3).

Persulfates: a salt of persulphuric acid, as potassium persulfate.

Plume: a mass of material, typically a pollutant, spreading from a source.

Potassium Permanganate: a dark purple salt KMnO4 used as an oxidizer and

disinfectant.

Remediation: is the act of remedying or correcting something that has been

corrupted or that is deficient.

Toluene: a colorless liquid hydrocarbon present in coal tar and petroleum and
used as a solvent and in organic synthesis.

Toxic: poisonous.

Violation: the action of violating someone or something.

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Contaminated Groundwater: Saving the Water In New Mexico

Work Cited

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/new-water-worries-climate-stressed-new-mexico

https://www.env.nm.gov/water/

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-
new-mexico-state-fact-sheet.pdf

https://defendourfuture.org/files/2018/01/New_Mexico_State_of_Risk.pdf

https://nmelc.org/our-work/cases/kirtland-jet-fuel-spill/

https://blog.idrenvironmental.com/5-tips-for-handling-hazardous-waste

https://www.ck12.org/earth-science/cleaning-up-groundwater/lesson/cleaning-
up-groundwater-hs-es/