ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Bureau of Reclamation's San Juan-Chama Project, which made its first official diversions in Colorado and deliveries of water through Azotea Tunnel and into Willow Creek in northern New Mexico for storage in Heron Reservoir on March 26, 1971. This milestone celebrates five decades of water delivery to New Mexico communities, farmers and recreationists.
"At times during the summers of 2018 and 2020, water from this project made up the majority of the water flowing through the Rio Grande in Albuquerque," said Albuquerque Area Manager Jennifer Faler. "There are so many New Mexicans who benefit from this project water annually. As drought continues to grip the Southwest, this supplemental water supply is ever more important."
The San Juan-Chama Project consists of a series of three diversion dams and three tunnels that divert water from the Navajo, Little Navajo, and Rio Blanco in southern Colorado to Heron Reservoir in northern New Mexico. The rivers are all tributaries of the San Juan River, which is a tributary of the Colorado River. The storage feature of the project is Heron Reservoir, just off the Rio Chama upstream from El Vado Reservoir, in northern New Mexico.
The cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, as well as the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District were among the initial forward-looking entities who signed up to pay Reclamation for construction of the project to be used to supplement their water supplies. Fifty years later, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and the City/County of Santa Fe have constructed drinking water projects utilizing their share of the water. The MRGCD has continuously used its share of this imported water to supplement native irrigation supplies from the Rio Grande.
"This water provides a big boost to the overall health of the ecosystem of the Rio Grande every year, and particularly during dry years," Faler said. "But we must be aware that with continued drought, even the San Juan-Chama Project has experienced shortage in recent years. We must continue to manage all of our water supply cooperatively and carefully to ensure that all water users of the San Juan-Chama Project and the Rio Grande experience the most benefits."
Flexible movement of the water has also become an important source for managing recreational flows on the Rio Chama Wild and Scenic River, helping to create a world-class brown trout fishery and a commercially important location for whitewater rafting. In addition, Reclamation has leased approximately 750,000 acre-feet of San Juan-Chama Project water from the project beneficiaries over the last 20 years to supplement the flow of the Middle Rio Grande for environmental purposes.
Other entities receiving portions of the supply from the project include Jicarilla Apache Nation; Pueblos of Taos, Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Tesuque and Ohkay Owingeh; Los Alamos County; Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District and the cities or towns of Belen, Espanola, Bernalillo, Taos, Los Lunas, Red River, Taos Ski Valley and El Prado. A small portion is also federally allocated to the recreation pool at Cochiti Reservoir.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
