Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan

Table 5-6.
Reservoirs and Lakes (greater than 5,000 acre-feet) in and Supplying the
Middle Rio Grande Water Planning Region
River
Reservoir
Rio Arriba County a
Willow Creek/ Heron Dam
Rio Chama
Primary
Purpose
Irrigation
M&I (storage
for SJCP)
Operator
Date
Completed
Total
Authorized
Conservation
Storage
Capacity
(acre-feet)
Surface
Area b
(acres)
Dam
Height
(feet)
Dam
Length
(feet)
Bureau of Reclamation 1970 401,000 5,901 269 1,220
Rio Chama El Vado Reservoir Irrigation (for Bureau of Reclamation 1934 180,000 3,100 230 1,326
MRGCD)
Abiquiu Dam Flood control U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1963 200,000 4,224 354 1,800
Sandoval County
Rio Grande Cochiti Lake Flood control U.S. Army Corp of Engineers 1975 50,000 c 1,200 251 29,000
Recreation
Jemez River Jemez Canyon
Reservoir (DRY)
Flood control U.S. Army Corp of Engineers 1953 0 0 149 870
Sources: USACE, 1999
a Reservoirs are upstream of Middle Rio Grande region, but are included because of
their relevance to the region.
b Surface area at maximum authorized conservation storage.
c Authorized Cochiti storage is for a permanent recreation pool of 1,200 surface acres.
There is no conservation storage authorized for Cochiti Lake.
M&I = Municipal and industrial
SJCP = San Juan-Chama Project
MRGCD = Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District
Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan 2017 93