Rita Blanca Aquiferinteractive map | cross-section

Summary

The Rita Blanca Aquifer, a minor aquifer, underlies the Ogallala Aquifer in the northwest corner of the Texas Panhandle. Groundwater occurs in the coarse-grained sand and gravel layers of the Lytle and Dakota formations as well as in the Exeter Sandstone and the Morrison Formation. The thickness of the aquifer is as much as 250 feet, and freshwater saturated thickness averages about 180 feet. In places, the Rita Blanca Aquifer is hydraulically connected to the Ogallala Aquifer and the underlying Dockum Aquifer. The total thickness of water-yielding rocks in these places is accordingly much greater.

Water in the aquifer is usually fresh, containing less than 1,000 milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids, but very hard; however, some parts of the aquifer produce water that is slightly saline, containing more than 1,000 milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids.

Irrigation accounts for most of the groundwater use from this aquifer, Texline being the only community that uses the aquifer for municipal water supply. Water levels in municipal wells have historically remained stable, whereas water levels in irrigation wells have declined steadily.

Reports