PecosPecos BasinBasin AssessmentAssessment andand WatershedWatershed ProtectionProtection PlanningPlanning FundingFunding

ProvidedProvided byby thethe TexasTexas StateState SoilSoil andand WaterWater ConservationConservation BoardBoard (TSSWCB)(TSSWCB) throughthrough thethe EnvironmentalEnvironmental ProtectionProtection AgencyAgency (EPA)(EPA) CleanClean WaterWater ActAct SectionSection 319(h)319(h) grant.grant. MultiMulti--AgencyAgency EffortEffort

TexasTexas CooperativeCooperative ExtensionExtension

TexasTexas AgriculturalAgricultural ExperimentExperiment StationStation

TexasTexas WaterWater ResourcesResources InstituteInstitute

InternationalInternational BoundaryBoundary andand WaterWater CommissionCommission –– CleanClean RiversRivers ProgramProgram SignificanceSignificance ofof thethe PecosPecos

Largest U.S. river sub-basin flowing into the – Only perennial surface water source between the & Rio Grande rivers – Economic driver for the region

Accounts for 11% of stream inflow into Amistad

Contributes 29.5% of total salt loading into Amistad NeedNeed forfor thethe ProjectProject

DecreasedDecreased waterwater quantityquantity

DecliningDeclining waterwater qualityquality

DwindlingDwindling biologicalbiological diversitydiversity ProjectProject ObjectivesObjectives

AssessAssess physicalphysical featuresfeatures ofof thethe PecosPecos RiverRiver basinbasin (Task(Task 1)1)

FacilitateFacilitate communicationscommunications withwith stakeholdersstakeholders (Task(Task 2)2)

MonitoringMonitoring ProgramProgram (Task(Task 3)3)

DevelopDevelop WatershedWatershed ProtectionProtection PlanPlan forfor PecosPecos RiverRiver inin TexasTexas (Task(Task 4)4)

TaskTask 1:1: BasinBasin AssessmentAssessment

Identify, characterize, and evaluate physical features of the

Develop interactive maps of the basin

Use modeling to evaluate Generated saltcedar delineation salinity and flow map with “spray files” overlaid showing areas where herbicide will or have been applied aerially TaskTask 1:1: BasinBasin AssessmentAssessment

Environmental,Environmental, Social,Social, && EconomicEconomic InventoriesInventories of:of: – Historical information

Pecos pupfish photo courtesy of the Wild – Land & water use – Economic modeling – Salinity – Riparian and Aquatic habitat – Aquatic species TaskTask 2:2: EducationalEducational ProgrammingProgramming

Publications – Technical – Historical – Informational

Meetings – Stakeholder involvement

Website – pecosbasin.tamu.edu TaskTask 3:3: MonitoringMonitoring ProgramProgram

MonitoringMonitoring – Standard water quality monitoring

– Paired plot study Treated and untreated saltcedar plots Evaluate potential water salvage from saltcedar control TaskTask 4:4: WatershedWatershed ProtectionProtection PlanPlan

Conduct stakeholder meetings to get their input

Develop a draft plan for public comments that includes original stakeholder input and scientific study findings

Release for public comment

Incorporate comments into draft and create a final, stakeholder approved document

Submit final Watershed Protection Plan ProjectProject StatusStatus

AssessmentAssessment andand monitoringmonitoring areare completedcompleted –– TaskTask reportsreports inin progressprogress

EducationalEducational programmingprogramming continuescontinues –– StakeholderStakeholder meetingsmeetings stillstill toto comecome

WatershedWatershed ProtectionProtection PlanPlan isis inin thethe worksworks –– 11st draftdraft donedone byby earlyearly summersummer PecosPecos HistoryHistory

AA projectproject deliverabledeliverable

AnAn accountaccount ofof humanhuman activitiesactivities inin thethe watershedwatershed

HighlightsHighlights waterwater resourceresource challengeschallenges inin thethe basinbasin EarlyEarly HumansHumans

HumanHuman artifactsartifacts havehave NativeNative AmericanAmerican beenbeen agedaged atat aboutabout TribesTribes 96009600 yearsyears oldold – Jumano – Pecos EarlyEarly EuropeanEuropean – Comanche ExplorersExplorers firstfirst – Apache documenteddocumented NativeNative – Pawnee AmericanAmerican presencepresence inin – Kickapoo thethe 1500s1500s – Kiowa – Shawnee TheThe EuropeanEuropean EntranceEntrance

AlvarAlvar NunezNunez CabezaCabeza dede VacaVaca referedrefered toto dede VacaVaca (1530)(1530) thethe PecosPecos asas thethe FranciscoFrancisco VazquezVazquez ““greatgreat riverriver”” dede CoronadoCoronado (1540)(1540) FrayFray AugustinAugustin CoronadoCoronado recordedrecorded RodriguezRodriguez (1580)(1580) thatthat NativeNative AmericansAmericans AntonioAntonio dede EspejoEspejo werewere usingusing irrigationirrigation (1583)(1583) toto growgrow cropscrops AngloAnglo SettlementSettlement

BeganBegan inin thethe midmid 1800s1800s – 1st water well drilled in 1849 near Van Horn

– Spring flow diverted to irrigate crops

– 1st major effort to dam the Pecos for was in 1887 near Imperial

Capt. John Pope and Party at Artesian Well Drilling Site Near Texas – New State Line (1857) Photo Courtesy of the State Preservation Board EarlyEarly IrrigationIrrigation ProjectsProjects WaterWater Management:Management: TheThe EarlyEarly DaysDays

SurfaceSurface WaterWater GroundwaterGroundwater

Take what you can get Difficult in the early days

Irrigation projects Took off in the 40’s and – Poor coordination 50’s

Red Bluff Take what you can get – Cooperative effort to – The rule of capture at work manage irrigation waters from the Pecos RedRed BluffBluff ReservoirReservoir

1st proposed in 1905

Completed in 1936 by Red Bluff Water Improvement Dist. and the Public Works Admin.

Pecos Interstate Compact signed in 1948 ensures joint river management

1987 lawsuit awarded $14 Million and 340,100 AF to Texas IrrigationIrrigation MilestonesMilestones SinceSince 19591959

69,499 acres was the least amount of land irrigated (1989) – Used a total of 193,163 AF of irrigation water

Irrigated acreage peaked at 259,570 acres in 1964 – Used a total of 835,412 AF of irrigation water RecentRecent IrrigationIrrigation

AboutAbout 73,00073,000 acac irrigatedirrigated inin 20002000 – 176,541 ac/ft groundwater (87.5%) – 25,119 ac/ft surface water (12.5%) Water well in the Pecos basin used for irrigation SurfaceSurface WaterWater Management:Management: TodayToday

Rely on water from

Red Bluff Water Control Red Bluff Reservoir District controls releases – Irrigation districts request releases

7 irrigation districts remain

Barstow Dam, Ward Co. Irrigation Dist. No. 1 GroundwaterGroundwater Management:Management: TodayToday

GroundwaterGroundwater conservationconservation districtsdistricts

Currently operating CostsCosts toto pumppump waterwater GCD’s TWDB 2007 DecliningDeclining aquiferaquifer levelslevels andand qualityquality

TheThe rulerule ofof capturecapture stillstill rulesrules ProgressionProgression ofof thethe RiverRiver

March 2005 CurrentCurrent ManagementManagement EffortsEfforts

SaltcedarSaltcedar controlcontrol

AeriallyAerially appliedapplied selectiveselective herbicideherbicide

GPSGPS guidedguided systemsystem

OverOver 12,00012,000 acresacres treatedtreated toto datedate NeededNeeded RiverRiver ManagementManagement

SalinitySalinity controlcontrol

QuantityQuantity ofof flowflow

EnvironmentalEnvironmental flowsflows

HabitatHabitat managementmanagement http://http://pecosbasin.tamu.edupecosbasin.tamu.edu

Lucas Gregory Project Manager Texas Water Resources Institute 979-845-7869 [email protected]