Representing Policy for Operations in the Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model
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An Environmental History of the Middle Rio Grande Basin
United States Department of From the Rio to the Sierra: Agriculture Forest Service An Environmental History of Rocky Mountain Research Station the Middle Rio Grande Basin Fort Collins, Colorado 80526 General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-5 Dan Scurlock i Scurlock, Dan. 1998. From the rio to the sierra: An environmental history of the Middle Rio Grande Basin. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-5. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 440 p. Abstract Various human groups have greatly affected the processes and evolution of Middle Rio Grande Basin ecosystems, especially riparian zones, from A.D. 1540 to the present. Overgrazing, clear-cutting, irrigation farming, fire suppression, intensive hunting, and introduction of exotic plants have combined with droughts and floods to bring about environmental and associated cultural changes in the Basin. As a result of these changes, public laws were passed and agencies created to rectify or mitigate various environmental problems in the region. Although restoration and remedial programs have improved the overall “health” of Basin ecosystems, most old and new environmental problems persist. Keywords: environmental impact, environmental history, historic climate, historic fauna, historic flora, Rio Grande Publisher’s Note The opinions and recommendations expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USDA Forest Service. Mention of trade names does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the Federal Government. The author withheld diacritical marks from the Spanish words in text for consistency with English punctuation. Publisher Rocky Mountain Research Station Fort Collins, Colorado May 1998 You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. -
July 31, 2019 Chair Karen Dunning Vice
July 31, 2019 Chair Karen Dunning Vice- Chair Joaquin Baca Mike A. Hamman, PE CEO and Chief Engineer 1 2 EL VADO DAM On the Rio Chama - For water storage COCHITI DAM ANGOSTURA Diversion Weir ISLETA Diversion Weir SAN ACACIA Diversion Weir Bosque del Apache Refuge 3 MRGCD Priorities Meet irrigation demands while improving system efficiencies to prepare for shortages Keep Ag lands in production through use of water banking and protecting water rights Operate to minimize debt under the RG Compact. Comply with 2016 BiOp to provide ESA coverage to MRGCD and other water users in the Rio Grande basin. Perform numerous capital improvements including repairing El Vado Dam and constructing engineered levees in the urbanizing areas. Improve and expand inter-governmental partnerships to develop joint projects and leverage funding. 4 2012 to 2018 Hydrology Five of seven years were below average to much below average annual flows at the Otowi gage. 2018 was the lowest runoff since 1956. Rio Grande basin has been in Article VII storage restrictions for most of this period so the District stored allocated relinquishment credit water @El Vado Dam. District exhausted all San Juan-Chama supplies in 2018. San Juan-Chama Project shortages occurred in 2014 - 2018. The District released from El Vado in the fall to Elephant Butte in recent years to reduce potential NM RG Compact debits. 5 Upper Rio Grande Snowpack 2016 -19 6 2019 Water Operations Flows at Otowi gage are on target to exceed 1.5 M a-f making this the third highest runoff season on record. -
Deposition and Chemistry of Bottom Sediments in Cochiti Lake, North-Central New Mexico
DEPOSITION AND CHEMISTRY OF BOTTOM SEDIMENTS IN COCHITI LAKE, NORTH-CENTRAL NEW MEXICO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4258 Prepared in cooperation with the PUEBLO DE COCHITI DEPOSITION AND CHEMISTRY OF BOTTOM SEDIMENTS IN COCHITI LAKE, NORTH-CENTRAL NEW MEXICO By Jennifer T. Wilson and Peter C. Van Metre U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4258 Prepared in cooperation with the PUEBLO DE COCHITI Albuquerque, New Mexico 2000 CONTENTS Page Abstract.................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose and scope ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Methods ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Quality control............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Deposition of bottom sediment............................................................................................................................................. -
Rio Grande Compact Commission Records, MS406, C
Guide to MS 406 Rio Grande Compact Commission records 1939-1968 3 linear feet Processed by Eva Ross, 2009 and edited by Claudia Rivers, 2012 Transferred to the UTEP Library by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission as part of the Texas Regional Historical Resources Depository Program. TSLAC accession number 1999/193 Citation: Rio Grande Compact Commission records, 1939-1968, MS406, C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department. The University of Texas at El Paso Library. C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department University of Texas at El Paso MS406 Historical Sketch: Formed as a result of the interstate compact signed by the states of Colorado, New Mexico and Texas in 1938 and approved by Congress, the Texas commission’s goal is to implement the compact by assuring the equitable apportioning of waters from the Rio Grande Basin. Past Commissioners include Frank B. Clayton, Julian P. Harrison, J. E. Quaid, Louis A. Scott, and Joe Hanson. Commissioner as of June, 2012 is Patrick Gordon. Arrangement: No series description has been determined. The files include rules and minutes, correspondence, project reports, water deliveries, Colorado debits, and stream gaging stations. Arrangement is roughly chronological within each grouping of folders. Scope and Content Notes: Contains correspondence, reports, tables, maps, and photographs that reflect the activities of the Texas office of the Rio Grande Compact Commission. Provenance Statement: Picked up by Special Collections staff from the Rio Grande Compact Commission office in El Paso at the request of Commissioner Joe Hanson in August 1999 from Tammy Beeman, his secretary. The official transfer reads “non-current files of historical interest” and was approved by Chris LaPlante, State Archivist. -
The History of the Rio Grande Compact of 1938
The Rio Grande Compact: Douglas R. Littlefield received his bache- Its the Law! lors degree from Brown University, a masters degree from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1987. His doc- toral dissertation was entitled, Interstate The History of the Water Conflicts, Compromises, and Com- Rio Grande pacts: The Rio Grande, 1880-1938. Doug Compact heads Littlefield Historical Research in of 1938 Oakland, California. He is a research histo- rian and consultant for many projects throughout the nation. Currently he also is providing consulting services to the U.S. Department of Justice, Salt River Project in Arizona, Nebraska Department of Water Resources, and the City of Las Cruces. From 1984-1986, Doug consulted for the Legal Counsel, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, on the history of Rio Grande water rights and interstate apportionment disputes between New Mexico and Texas for use in El Paso v. Reynolds. account for its extraordinary irrelevancy, Boyd charged, by concluding that it was written by a The History of the congenital idiot, borrowed for such purpose from the nearest asylum for the insane. Rio Grande Compact Boyds remarks may have been intemperate, but nevertheless, they amply illustrate how heated of 1938 the struggle for the rivers water supplies had become even as early as the turn of the century. And Boyds outrage stemmed only from battles Good morning. I thought Id start this off on over water on the limited reach of the Rio Grande an upbeat note with the following historical extending just from southern New Mexicos commentary: Mesilla Valley to areas further downstream near Mentally and morally depraved. -
Upper Rio Grande Water Operations FWCA Report
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report for the Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Review and Environmental Impact Statement Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas Submitted to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque, New Mexico U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Albuquerque, New Mexico New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission Albuquerque, New Mexico Prepared by: John C. Branstetter U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office 2105 Osuna Road NE Albuquerque, New Mexico 87113 August 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................1 DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AREA .......................................................................................3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ..........................................................................................................7 I-3...............................................................................................................................................9 I-2...............................................................................................................................................9 I-1...............................................................................................................................................9 E-3..............................................................................................................................................9 D-3 ...........................................................................................................................................10 -
Rio Grande Compact Commission Report
3 RIO GRANDE COMPACT COMMISSION REPORT RIO GRANDE COMPACT The State of Colorado, the State of New Mexico, and the State of Texas, desiring to remove all causes of present and future controversy among these States and between citizens of one of these States and citizens of another State with respect to the use of the waters of the Rio Grande above Fort Quitman, Texas, and being moved by considerations of interstate comity, and for the purpose of effecting an equitable apportionment of such waters, have resolved to conclude a Compact for the attainment of these purposes, and to that end, through their respective Governors, have named as their respective Commissioners: For the State of Colorado M. C. Hinderlider For the State of New Mexico Thomas M. McClure For the State of Texas Frank B. Clayton who, after negotiations participated in by S. O. Harper, appointed by the President as the representative of the United States of America, have agreed upon the following articles, to- wit: ARTICLE I (a) The State of Colorado, the State of New Mexico, the State of Texas, and the United States of America, are hereinafter designated “Colorado,” “New Mexico,” “Texas,” and the “United States,” respectively. (b) “The Commission” means the agency created by this Compact for the administration thereof. (c) The term “Rio Grande Basin” means all of the territory drained by the Rio Grande and its tributaries in Colorado, in New Mexico, and in Texas above Fort Quitman, including the Closed Basin in Colorado. (d) The “Closed Basin” means that part of the Rio Grande Basin in Colorado where the streams drain into the San Luis Lakes and adjacent territory, and do not normally contribute to the flow of the Rio Grande. -
Rio Grande Compact Violations
RIO GRANDE COMPACT VIOLATIONS VIOLATION New Mexico’s ever increasing water use and groundwater pumping below Elephant Butte Reservoir (EBR) deprives Texas of water apportioned to it under the 1938 Rio Grande Compact (Compact). OVERVIEW The Rio Grande Project (Project) serves the Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas areas and includes Elephant Butte Reservoir. Federal legislation provides for Project water to be allocated 57 percent to Project Lands within New Mexico and 43 percent to Project Lands in Texas. Two districts receive this Project Water—Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) in New Mexico and El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 (EP #1) in Texas. A 1938 contract among EBID, EP #1 and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) reflects the 57 percent–43 percent division. The City of El Paso obtains about 50% of its water from EP#1's allocation. The Compact apportions the waters of the Rio Grande among the signatory states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. The Compact apportions all of the water that New Mexico delivers into Elephant Butte Reservoir to Texas, subject to the United States’ Treaty obligation to Mexico and the United States’ Project Contract with EBID in New Mexico. The Compact sought to maintain the status quo as it existed in 1938 utilizing the Rio Grande Project as a means to insure that this occurred. ISSUE Texas is deprived of water apportioned to it in the Compact because New Mexico has authorized and permitted wells that have been developed near the Rio Grande in New Mexico. These wells (estimated at over 3,000) pump as much as 270,000 acre-feet of water annually. -
Effective Southwest Riparian Tree and Shrub Planting Methods That Require Minimal Or No Irrigation
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Materials Program The Plant Materials Program • Collects, selects, and uses plant breeding strategies to release grasses, legumes, wildflowers, trees and shrubs to commercial producers who sell our products to the public • Develops technologies for establishing vegetation for the use of plants as a natural way to solve conservation issues with the ultimate goal of re-establishing ecosystem function Deep-Planting Techniques to Establish Riparian Vegetation in the Arid and Semi-Arid Southwest By: Greg Fenchel Dave Dreesen Danny Goodson Keith White Los Lunas, New Mexico Plant Materials Center Six Years Later After Treatment A 40-acre treatment site on the Rio Grande in Veguita, New Mexico. Site dominated by a saltcedar under a cottonwood gallery. Before Treatment Presentation Includes 1. What, when, and where to plant (and why) 2. Effective planting methods 3. Suggested planting equipment 4. Survival results 5. Suggested publications www.nm.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/technotes/bio/riparian.pdf 1. Step-by-step guide to obtaining resource data on the riparian site 2. An assessment tool to determine the condition of a site 3. Treatment considerations and references 40 websites where you can download free, “state- of- the-art,” NM NRCS endorsed methodologies to improve condition Guide–Step 1: Obtaining Site Resource Data (Pages 1-4) •Locate the site - Use of aerial photography and USGS quad sheets •Identify ownership - Federal, state, local, tribal, private •Locate utility corridors - Get a line check from the providers for potential buried electric, oil, gas, phone lines etc. •Locate flood control structures – Dikes or dams that effect natural flow •Site modifications – Waste disposal, concrete, car bodies, etc •Public access – Some areas may need to be excluded to protect plants •Rules and regulations – Compliance with environmental laws (i.e. -
Sharing the Colorado River and the Rio Grande: Cooperation and Conflict with Mexico
Sharing the Colorado River and the Rio Grande: Cooperation and Conflict with Mexico December 12, 2018 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45430 {222A0E69-13A2-4985-84AE-73CC3DFF4D02}-R-065134085251065165027250227152136081055238021128244192097047169070027044111226189083158176100054014174027138098149076081229242065001223143228213208120077243222253018219014073197030033204036098221153115024066109133181160249027233236220178084 SUMMARY R45430 Sharing the Colorado River and the December 12, 2018 Rio Grande: Cooperation and Conflict with Nicole T. Carter Specialist in Natural Mexico Resources Policy The United States and Mexico share the waters of the Colorado River and the Rio Grande. A bilateral water treaty from 1944 (the 1944 Water Treaty) and other binational agreements guide Stephen P. Mulligan how the two governments share the flows of these rivers. The binational International Boundary Legislative Attorney and Water Commission (IBWC) administers these agreements. Since 1944, the IBWC has been the principal venue for addressing river-related disputes between the United States and Mexico. The 1944 Water Treaty authorizes the IBWC to develop rules and to issue proposed decisions, Charles V. Stern called minutes, regarding matters related to the treaty’s execution and interpretation. Specialist in Natural Resources Policy Water Delivery Requirements Established in Binational Agreements. The United States’ and Mexico’s water-delivery obligations derive from multiple treaty sources and vary depending on the body of water. Under the 1944 Water Treaty, the United States is required to provide Mexico with 1.5 million acre-feet (AF) of Colorado River water annually. The 1944 Water Treaty also addresses the nations’ respective rights to waters of the Rio Grande downstream of Fort Quitman, TX. It requires Mexico to deliver to the United States an annual minimum of 350,000 AF of water, measured in five-year cycles (i.e., 1.75 million AF over five years). -
History of the Rio Grande Reservoirs in New Mexico: Legislation and Litigation
University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Law of the Rio Chama The Utton Transboundary Resources Center 2007 History of the Rio Grande Reservoirs in New Mexico: Legislation and Litigation Susan Kelly UNM School of Law, Utton Center Iris Augusten Joshua Mann Lara Katz Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/uc_rio_chama Recommended Citation Kelly, Susan; Iris Augusten; Joshua Mann; and Lara Katz. "History of the Rio Grande Reservoirs in New Mexico: Legislation and Litigation." (2007). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/uc_rio_chama/28 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Utton Transboundary Resources Center at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Law of the Rio Chama by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. SUSAN KELLY, IRIS AUGUSTEN, JOSHUA MANN & LARA KATZ* History of the Rio Grande Reservoirs in New Mexico: Legislation and Litigation" ABSTRACT Nearly all of the dams and reservoirson the Rio Grandeand its tributaries in New Mexico were constructed by the federal government and were therefore authorized by acts of Congress. These congressionalauthorizations determine what and how much water can be stored, the purposesfor which water can be stored, and when and how it must be released. Water may be storedfor a variety of purposes such as flood control, conservation storage (storing the natural flow of the river for later use, usually municipal or agricultural),power production, sediment controlfish and wildlife benefits, or recreation. The effect of reservoir operations derived from acts of Congress is to control and manage theflow of rivers. -
1 Written Testimony Submitted to the United States Senate Committee On
Written Testimony Submitted to the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on S. 1012 New Mexico Drought Preparedness Act of 2017 Respectfully Submitted By Mike A. Hamman, PE Chief Executive Officer Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Rio Grande Water Development in New Mexico The Upper Rio Grande originates in the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. It bisects the San Luis Valley in Colorado and the entire state of New Mexico with this reach culminating at Fort Quitman, Texas. This portion of the Rio Grande is administered under the Rio Grande Compact by a federal appointee and three Commissioners from Colorado, New Mexico and Texas with support from the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Army Corps of Engineers. The annual mean flow as measured at the Otowi gage in New Mexico is 1 million acre-feet with wide variation, ranging from 250,000 to 2.5 million acre-feet. Irrigated agriculture consists of approximately 600,000 acres in Colorado, 200,000 acres in New Mexico, 100,000 acres in Texas. Additionally, up to 60,000 acre-feet is delivered to lands within the Republic of Mexico via the Rio Grande Project under the 1906 Convention between the United States and Mexico. The predominate crop due to climate, water supplies and labor considerations is alfalfa. Other crops include potatoes, chilé, corn, fruit, onions and pecans. There is an improving ‘farm to table’ market serving a demand for locally produced agricultural products ranging from lettuces to melons as well as organically grown products particularly near and in municipalities.