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 Rio Grande – Only perennial surface water source between the Colorado & Rio Grande rivers – Economic driver for the region
Accounts for 11% of stream inflow into Amistad Reservoir
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 Pecos River
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 Texas 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 irrigation was in 1887 near Imperial
Capt. John Pope and Party at Artesian Well Drilling Site Near Texas – New Mexico 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 New Mexico
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]