15 Environmental Geochemistry and Health Impacts

This session welcomes research on contaminant occurrence, fate and transport, and impacts on human and environmental health. Interdisciplinary contributions with implications for environmental remediation and natural resources management are encouraged.

Monday, 18 May 2026
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Alvarado G

Characterizing Heavy Metal Contamination in Groundwater Wells in a Post-Wildfire Region of Northeast New Mexico

Paper number: 15-7
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 3:25 PM – 3:45 PM

Authors

Abstract

Private domestic wells supply drinking water to millions of residents across the Rocky Mountain region, yet they remain largely outside the regulatory, funding, and monitoring frameworks that govern public water systems. When disasters such as wildfires occur, agencies are often asked to respond rapidly to concerns about drinking water safety, without baseline data, clear jurisdiction, or established mechanisms for engaging private well owners. As wildfire frequency and severity increase across the West, groundwater sources are being impacted, and these challenges are becoming more urgent.

This presentation will share results from a private well testing effort in the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon burn scar in portions of Taos, Mora, and San Miguel Counties of New Mexico. Following the 2022 wildfire, a small subset of private wells were tested by an independent geologic consulting firm in the summers of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Results were primarily below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) until summer 2025 when elevated levels of heavy metals—including antimony, arsenic, uranium, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, thallium, and vanadium—were found. Beginning in December 2025, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) worked with Eastern Research Group, Inc. to test over 400 private wells in and around the burn scar to further characterize this potential contamination.

Here, we’ll discuss the results from NMED’s sampling efforts, including Primary MCL exceedances, adult and infant Lifetime Health Advisory (LHA) exceedances, and secondary MCL exceedances, as well as their potential impacts on human health. GIS mapping will illustrate the current dataset and display where contamination is occurring. We’ll discuss preliminary findings that characterize the extent of the contamination and discuss potential commonalities among contaminated wells, including well depths, locations, hydrogeologic conditions, well construction details, and potential well fire damage. The presentation will also detail potential next steps for New Mexico state agencies to determine the potential source(s) of contamination, continue evaluating seasonality of contamination, and consider treatment and remediation options.

This session will also highlight the need for groundwater monitoring programs in post-wildfire landscapes. As climate change continues to make wildfire more common and severe, governments and other groups may need to consider plans for baseline and/or continuous monitoring to ensure water quality and safety for those using private groundwater resources in the years to come.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 4

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026RM-410492

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