Rustler Aquiferinteractive map | cross-section

Summary

The Rustler Aquifer is a minor aquifer located in Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Reeves, and Ward counties. The aquifer consists of the carbonates and evaporites of the Rustler Formation, which is the youngest unit of the Late Permian Ochoan Series. The Rustler Formation is 250 to 670 feet thick and extends downdip into the subsurface toward the center of the Delaware Basin to the east. It becomes thinner along the eastern margin of the Delaware Basin and across the Central Basin Platform and Val Verde Basin. There it conformably overlies the Salado Formation. Groundwater occurs in partly dissolved dolomite, limestone, and gypsum. Most of the water production comes from fractures and solution openings in the upper part of the formation.

Although some parts of the aquifer produce freshwater containing less than 1,000 milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids, the water is generally slightly to moderately saline and contains total dissolved solids ranging between 1,000 and 4,600 milligrams per liter.

The water is used primarily for irrigation, livestock, and waterflooding operations in oil-producing areas. Fluctuations in water levels over time most likely reflect long-term variations in water use patterns.

Reports