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Table of Contents Calendar Year 2014 Report to the Rio Grande Compact Commission Colorado New Mexico Texas Dick Wolfe Tom Blaine Patrick R. Gordon Federal Chairman Hal Simpson U. S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Albuquerque Area Office Albuquerque, New Mexico March 2015 MISSION STATEMENTS The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation's natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to Indian Tribes and our commitments to island communities. The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. Cover photo – NM 346 Bridge, July 26, 2014 (Daniel Clouser, MRGCD, Belen, NM) Calendar Year 2014 Report to the Rio Grande Compact Commission U. S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation March 2014 Information contained in this document regarding commercial products or firms may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes and is not an endorsement of any product or firm by the Bureau of Reclamation. Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... i List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ iii Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 San Luis Valley Project, Colorado .............................................................................................. 3 Conejos Division, Platoro Reservoir .......................................................................................... 3 Platoro Dam Facility Review and Safety of Dams Programs ................................................. 4 Closed Basin Division................................................................................................................. 4 Operations ............................................................................................................................... 4 Maintenance ............................................................................................................................ 5 Water Quality .......................................................................................................................... 6 Rio Grande Water Conservation District ................................................................................ 6 San Juan – Chama Project, Colorado – New Mexico ................................................................ 7 San Juan - Chama Project Accounting........................................................................................ 7 Heron Dam and Reservoir Operations ........................................................................................ 8 Heron Dam Facility Review and Safety of Dams Programs .................................................... 10 Pojoaque Tributary Unit - Nambé Falls Dam and Reservoir .................................................... 10 Nambé Falls Dam Facility Review and Safety of Dams Programs .......................................... 12 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Related Reservoir Operations ................................................ 13 2015 San Juan - Chama Outlook .............................................................................................. 14 Middle Rio Grande Project, New Mexico ................................................................................. 15 New Mexico Relinquishment of Rio Grande Compact Credit ................................................. 15 Emergency Drought Water ................................................................................................... 15 El Vado Dam and Reservoir Operations ................................................................................... 16 El Vado Dam Facility Review and Safety of Dams Programs ................................................. 17 Cooperative Programs with the State of New Mexico .............................................................. 18 Delta Channel History (formerly known as the Temporary Channel) .................................. 18 Delta Channel Maintenance .................................................................................................. 18 Irrigation Drain Improvements ............................................................................................. 19 River Maintenance .................................................................................................................... 20 River Maintenance Sites ....................................................................................................... 20 Truchas Arroyo (New Maintenance Site) ............................................................................. 20 San Ildefonso Pond (Adaptive Maintenance Site) ................................................................ 21 Peralta Arroyo (New Maintenance Site) ............................................................................... 22 Santo Domingo (Existing Site) ............................................................................................. 23 San Felipe (Adaptive Maintenance and Existing Sites) ........................................................ 24 Santa Ana Restoration (Adaptive Maintenance Site) ........................................................... 26 Santa Ana River Mile 205.8 (Existing Maintenance Site) .................................................... 26 Drain Unit 7 Extension Spoil Levee (New Maintenance Site) ............................................. 27 Drain Unit 7 Priority Site (Adaptive Maintenance Site) ....................................................... 27 Bosque del Apache Sediment Plug and Habitat Restoration Project (Existing Maintenance Site) ....................................................................................................................................... 28 Fort Craig Bend and River Mile 60 (Existing Maintenance Sites) ....................................... 28 Truth or Consequences (Existing Maintenance Site) ............................................................ 29 i Middle Rio Grande River Maintenance Plan ........................................................................ 29 Determination of River Maintenance Need at Individual Sites and Reaches ....................... 30 Endangered Species .................................................................................................................. 31 Programmatic Water Operations and River Maintenance ESA, Biological Opinion, Compliance ........................................................................................................................... 31 Rio Grande Silvery Minnow ................................................................................................. 32 Southwestern Willow Flycatcher .......................................................................................... 34 Yellow-billed Cuckoo ........................................................................................................... 36 Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Yellow-billed Cuckoo Habitat .................................. 38 New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse ................................................................................ 39 New Middle Rio Grande Water Management and River Maintenance ESA, Section 7 Consultation .......................................................................................................................... 41 Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program ......................................... 41 Supplemental Water Program ................................................................................................... 42 Water Acquisition and Management .................................................................................... 42 Low Flow Conveyance Channel (LFCC) Pumping Program – San Acacia to Fort Craig Reach..................................................................................................................................... 42 Other Ongoing Water Management and Water Quality Related Projects ................................ 43 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Groundwater/Surface Water Interaction in the MRG Valley .................................................................................................................................... 43 USGS MRG River Gage Operation and Maintenance ......................................................... 44 RiverEyes .............................................................................................................................. 44 Rio Grande Project (New Mexico - Texas) ............................................................................... 45 Water Supply Conditions .......................................................................................................... 46 Project Irrigation and Drainage Systems .................................................................................. 47 Elephant Butte Reservoir and Power Plant ............................................................................... 47 Elephant Butte Dam Facility
Recommended publications
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