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Calendar Year 2017 Report to the Rio Grande Compact Commission

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Calendar Year 2017 Report to the Rio Grande Compact Commission Colorado New Mexico Texas Kevin Rein 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 2018 MISSION STATEMENTS The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated 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 – Eric Gonzales (Reclamation) and Eileen Henry (USFWS) seine for silvery minnows while Josh Grant (USFWS) takes notes, during Reclamation's annual fall fish surveys in the San Marcial Delta Water Conveyance Channel, within the boundaries of Elephant Butte Reservoir. (Liza Yazzie, Reclamation) Calendar Year 2017 Report to the Rio Grande Compact Commission U. S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation March 2018 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 List of Photos ................................................................................................................................ iv List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ......................................................................................... iv 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 ............................................................................................................................ 6 Water Quality .......................................................................................................................... 6 Rio Grande Water Conservation District ................................................................................ 6 San Juan – Chama Project, Colorado – New Mexico ................................................................ 8 San Juan - Chama Project Accounting ........................................................................................ 8 Heron Dam and Reservoir Operations ........................................................................................ 9 Heron Dam Facility Review and Safety of Dams Programs .................................................... 10 Pojoaque Tributary Unit - Nambé Falls Dam and Reservoir .................................................... 11 Nambé Falls Dam Facility Review and Safety of Dams Programs .......................................... 12 2018 San Juan - Chama Project Outlook .................................................................................. 13 Middle Rio Grande Project, New Mexico ................................................................................. 14 Article VII ................................................................................................................................. 14 New Mexico Relinquishment of Rio Grande Compact Credit ................................................. 16 El Vado Dam and Reservoir Operations ................................................................................... 16 El Vado Dam Facility Review and Safety of Dams Programs ................................................. 18 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Related Reservoir Operations................................................ 19 Cooperative Programs with the State of New Mexico .............................................................. 20 Delta Channel Maintenance .................................................................................................. 20 San Acacia Diversion Dam Riprap Supply ........................................................................... 21 Lower San Juan Riverside Drain Vegetation Removal ........................................................ 21 Sediment Plug Removal ........................................................................................................ 21 River Maintenance .................................................................................................................... 22 River Maintenance Sites ....................................................................................................... 22 Estaca Arroyo (Adaptive Maintenance Site) ........................................................................ 23 San Ildefonso Pond (Adaptive Maintenance Site) ................................................................ 23 San Felipe (Existing Maintenance Site) ................................................................................ 24 Santa Ana River Mile 205.8 (Adaptive Maintenance Site) .................................................. 24 Highway 550 to Montaño Reach Planning (Existing Maintenance Reach) ......................... 25 Sandia Priority Site Bendway Weir Repairs (Adaptive Maintenance Site) .......................... 25 Corrales Siphon (Adaptive Maintenance Site) ..................................................................... 27 Isleta to San Acacia Reach Planning (Existing Maintenance Reach) ................................... 29 Arroyo de las Cañas Reach Planning (Existing Maintenance Reach) .................................. 30 Bosque del Apache River Realignment (Existing Maintenance Site) .................................. 31 i Fort Craig Bend and River Mile 60 (Existing Maintenance Site) ........................................ 34 Truth or Consequences (Existing Maintenance Site)............................................................ 34 Mescal Arroyo Planning (Adaptive Maintenance) ............................................................... 34 Middle Rio Grande River Maintenance Plan ........................................................................ 35 Determination of River Maintenance Need at Individual Sites and Reaches ....................... 36 Endangered Species .................................................................................................................. 37 Programmatic Water Operations and River Maintenance Endangered Species Act (ESA), Section 7, Compliance .......................................................................................................... 37 Rio Grande Silvery Minnow ................................................................................................. 38 Southwestern Willow Flycatcher .......................................................................................... 40 Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo ............................................................................................. 45 Supplemental Water Program ................................................................................................... 46 Water Acquisition and Management .................................................................................... 46 Low Flow Conveyance Channel (LFCC) Pumping Program – San Acacia to Fort Craig Reach..................................................................................................................................... 47 Isleta Settlement ........................................................................................................................ 48 Other Ongoing Water Management and Water Quality Related Projects ................................ 48 USGS MRG River Gage Operation and Maintenance ......................................................... 48 RiverEyes .............................................................................................................................. 49 Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program ............................................. 50 Rio Grande Project (New Mexico - Texas) ............................................................................... 52 Water Supply Conditions .......................................................................................................... 53 Project Irrigation and Drainage Systems .................................................................................. 54 Elephant
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