ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - As drought conditions persist in the Middle Rio Grande, the Bureau of Reclamation and other water and fish managers are preparing for intermittent river conditions, drying in the Albuquerque area, and taking action to support the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow.
After the spring runoff ends, stretches of the Middle Rio Grande south of Albuquerque often dry during the hottest summer months. This began on June 17 south of Socorro. The river from Cochiti Dam through Albuquerque has not dried since the 1980s due to careful coordination and supplemental water releases. However, impacts of two decades of drought amplified by the last two years of extreme drought conditions could change that this year.
“In the last two decades, Reclamation has leased about 700,000 acre-feet of water to supplement flows through the Middle Rio Grande, which, at times, increased inflow to Elephant Butte," said Reclamation’s Albuquerque Area Manager Jennifer Faler. “We remain committed to supporting agricultural and municipal uses while meeting Endangered Species Act requirements to support the Middle Rio Grande ecosystem. We continue to lease all water available, but after so many years of drought, our options are limited."
Water to supplement Rio Grande flows will be released in cooperation with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District to target specific areas of the river with known silvery minnow habitat and to manage the rate of anticipated drying. The much lower-than-average snowmelt runoff and the rules of the Rio Grande Compact led the MRGCD to delay its current irrigation season by a month.
“Current Compact debit prohibits Reclamation and MRGCD from storing Rio Grande water in El Vado Reservoir that is so critical for summer releases, and without which may lead to devastating crop losses and miles of river drying," says Mike Hamman, Chief Executive Officer for MRGCD.
Drying is expected to begin in the Albuquerque area south of the Rio Bravo Bridge in July and without monsoon moisture, drying could occur near Central Bridge later in the month.
“The current drought is the most severe one in New Mexico in the last 20 years, which has been a period of less than average annual surface water supply," said Rolf Schmidt-Petersen, Director of the Interstate Stream Commission. “Without significant rain, the natural flows of the Rio Grande will soon drop to levels that haven’t been seen in Albuquerque in over four decades."
As the river dries, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leads teams on all-terrain vehicles into the drying channel to rescue endangered fish from isolated pools and move them to areas expected to remain wet. This year, for the first time, fish rescue is planned for the Albuquerque area.
“Fish rescue is a common practice used south of Albuquerque to rescue the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow," said Thomas Archdeacon, fish biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We ask the public to avoid these areas while fish rescue is happening, for the safety of our personnel and the fish. Unauthorized vehicles of any kind are prohibited in the river channel."
Drying was also expected in the Albuquerque reach last summer, but was avoided when Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas under the Rio Grande Compact allowed the release of water that was being held for compact delivery to Texas. Reclamation, New Mexico, and MRGCD were also able to lease water from the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority to keep the river flowing through Albuquerque.
The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority ceased diversions from the Rio Grande on June 18.
“We’ll be relying exclusively on groundwater for drinking, probably until November," said Steven Michael Quezada, the chair of the Water Authority’s governing board. “Groundwater is our ‘savings account’ for times like this, and I urge everyone to conserve as much water as possible this summer so we can minimize withdrawals from our reserve supply."
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
