Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan

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identify representatives from water user groups and other stakeholders. Organizations and individuals on the master stakeholder list were sent announcements of meetings and the RWP update process and progress. Over the two-year update process, 18 meetings were held in the Middle Rio Grande region, including 17 NMISC-facilitated meetings and an additional public forum. These meetings identified the program objectives, presented draft supply and demand calculations for discussion and to guide strategy development, and provided an opportunity for stakeholders to provide input on the strategies that they would like to see implemented. All steering committee meetings were open to the public and interested stakeholders, and participation from all meeting attendees was encouraged. Key Water Issues The key water supply updates and issues currently impacting the Middle Rio Grande region include the following: The climate divisions within the planning region have all experienced drought in recent years. This is a particular concern for agricultural users that are dependent on surface water, but drought preparedness is important for each community in the region. The Rio Grande Compact requires delivery of specified amounts of water to Elephant Butte Reservoir based on the annual natural flow of the Rio Grande at the Otowi gage. New Mexico’s delivery to Elephant Butte Reservoir under the Compact is dependent, in part, upon natural and man-caused depletions within parts of the Jemez y Sangre, Middle Rio Grande, and Socorro-Sierra planning regions. This requirement limits combined depletions in these three regions. When the stored water in Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs legally available for release to the lower Rio Grande drops below a specified level, certain provisions of the Compact restrict storage and/or release of stored water in reservoirs upstream of Elephant Butte constructed after 1929, thus impacting water operations in the region, perhaps significantly. The Rio Grande is the main river in the planning region, and most of the groundwater in the region is within the Rio Grande Underground Water Basin and is considered to be stream-connected. The Rio Grande in the region is considered by the State Engineer to be fully appropriated, and any new diversion of surface water or stream-connected groundwater requires the transfer of a valid senior surface water right. The availability of senior water rights may thus be a limiting factor in meeting the future water needs of the region. Water users seeking to obtain water rights to meet growing demands, such as municipal users, are challenged because they must transfer an existing senior water right. No new Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan 2017 ES-4
appropriations are available in the region. After the groundwater basin was closed to new appropriations in 1956, a number of entities applied for and were issued groundwater pumping permits with the condition that the effects of the pumping on the river would be offset when they occur. Municipal return flow, San Juan-Chama Project water, and the transfer of senior water rights are used as offsets as required by the specific permit requirements, with return flows comprising the greatest volume of offset. The amount of senior water rights needed to offset the pumping under these permits when the effects are fully realized on the river is roughly equal to all of the transferrable senior water rights from the irrigated land along the Rio Grande from north of Albuquerque to Elephant Butte. The total amount of groundwater pumping currently occurring in the planning region is much less than the total amount permitted. • Several Middle Rio Grande entities have contract allotments of water from the San Juan- Chama Project, which brings water from the Colorado River Basin to the Rio Grande basin. San Juan-Chama Project contractors in the Middle Rio Grande region include the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) (48,200 acre--feet per year [ac-ft/yr]), Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) (20,900 ac-ft/yr), Town of Belen (500 ac-ft/yr), Town of Bernalillo (400 ac-ft/yr), and Village of Los Lunas (400 ac-ft/yr). • Since the 2004 plan was completed, the ABCWUA has begun to use surface water from the San Juan-Chama Project to supplement its water supply. This surface water use allows groundwater withdrawals to be reduced and is intended to save groundwater for use as a drought supply when surface water is not available. As a result, ABCWUA, which holds upward of 70 percent of the permitted post-1956 groundwater pumping rights in the region, does not need to pursue acquisition of pre-1907 water rights for offset purposes for several decades. ABCWUA has a goal to manage its existing water resources over the next hundred years to meet river offset requirements without further transfer of pre-1907 water rights. Prior to developing its surface diversion infrastructure, the ABCWUA leased, loaned, or gave portions of its San Juan-Chama Project water to other parties in the Middle Rio Grande for various uses. The smaller municipalities have not developed this renewable water supply and instead will likely continue to use their San Juan-Chama Project water for offset purposes as necessary. • The NMOSE adopted the Middle Rio Grande Administrative Guidelines in September 2000 for the administration of the Middle Rio Grande Administrative Area (MRGAA). These guidelines are designed to protect water rights, Rio Grande Compact compliance, and the aquifer, and to minimize land subsidence. Under the guidelines new groundwater appropriations will be approved in the MRGAA only if surface water rights are obtained and transferred to offset the diversion amount less any flow returned directly to the Rio Grande. Surface water supplies are fully appropriated, and MRGAA Critical Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan 2017 ES-5
Page 1 and 2: Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Pl
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6: List of Figures 1-1 Location of Mid
Page 7 and 8: 5-12 Leaking Underground Storage Ta
Page 9 and 10: MCL MCLG MDWCA MRCOG MRGAA MRGCD MR
Page 11 and 12: Executive Summary The Middle Rio Gr
Page 13: Planning Method For this RWP, water
Page 17 and 18: channel aggradation. These changes
Page 19 and 20: In 2014, the U.S. Environmental Pro
Page 21 and 22: • Bosque and other riparian habit
Page 23 and 24: 1. Introduction The Middle Rio Gran
Page 25 and 26: The organization of this update fol
Page 27 and 28: 2.1 The New Mexico Interstate Strea
Page 29 and 30: 2.2.1 Identification of Regional St
Page 31 and 32: Table 2-1. Steering Committee Membe
Page 33 and 34: Table 2-2. Middle Rio Grande Region
Page 39 and 40: Jicarilla Apache Nation Reservation
Page 41 and 42: Sierra water planning region. Geogr
Page 43 and 44: Table 3-1. Summary of Demographic a
Page 45 and 46: 4. Legal Issues 4.1 Relevant Water
Page 47 and 48: In addition to Tri-State, several c
Page 49 and 50: Socorro, Valencia, Bernalillo, Sand
Page 51 and 52: Authority’s application sought to
Page 53 and 54: equires the NMOSE to conduct hydrol
Page 55 and 56: 3. Allow for the declaration of dom
Page 57 and 58: provided for another review procedu
Page 59 and 60: Source: NMOSE, 2014a and 2014c La J
Page 61 and 62: 4.1.3 Federal Water Laws The law of
Page 63 and 64: As discussed above, the three party
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existing, and future uses). No adju
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• Gather information on domestic
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plan recognizes that water is easil
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• Protect groundwater by preventi
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not adequately consider all of the
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4.2.2 Water Quality Laws 4.2.2.1 Fe
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National Priorities List (NPL). 42
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• The Jicarilla Apache Nation Cod
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• Water users seeking to obtain w
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• The Federal Emergency Managemen
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water balance in the Middle Rio Gra
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Table 5-1. Middle Rio Grande Climat
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Sources: 1. WRCC, 2014 2. NWS, 2005
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Jemez Springs Temperature (°F) 90
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Jemez Springs Precipitation (inches
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drought monitoring systems, and it
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Climate Division 5 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
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expected. To assess climate trends
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Rio Chama La Jara JEMEZ RIVER NEAR
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Table 5-4a. USGS Stream Gage Statio
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Table 5-4a. USGS Stream Gage Statio
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Table 5-4b. USGS Stream Gage Annual
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Table 5-5. USGS Stream Gage Average
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1,200,000 1,000,000 Jemez River nea
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Rio Grande at Albuquerque, NM 2,000
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Table 5-6. Reservoirs and Lakes (gr
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Table 5-7. Dams with Dam Safety Def
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Tsj Southern Rocky Mountain Colorad
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In order to evaluate changes in wat
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5,025 5,020 351852106344901 Aquifer
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Source: NMED, 2014a and 2014c Note:
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Table 5-8. Total Maximum Daily Load
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Table 5-9. Municipal and Industrial
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Table 5-10. Groundwater Discharge P
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Table 5-11. Superfund Sites in the
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Table 5-12. Leaking Underground Sto
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Table 5-13. Landfills in the Middle
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Runoff, flooding, and debris flows
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• The minimum annual yield for ke
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Table 6-1. Total Withdrawals in the
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P:\_NM15-203\RWPs_2016\12_MRG\Figur
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• Riparian evapotranspiration: So
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The Arrowhead Center at NMSU analyz
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• The continued presence of Sandi
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to 669,727 acres. Also, during that
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For this regional water plan update
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Table 6-4. 2010 Water Withdrawals f
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Table 6-4 2010 Water Withdrawals fo
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• Consumptive use occurs when wat
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estrictions (i.e., the water is phy
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demand in this sector. The amount o
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6.5.2 Middle Rio Grande Projected W
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Table 6-5 Projected Water Demand, 2
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Within Bernalillo County, the high
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P:\_NM15-203\RWPs_2016\12_Middle Ri
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• Priority for Continued Implemen
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When the 2004 RWP was developed the
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Table 8-2. Key Collaborative Progra
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Table 8-2. Key Collaborative Progra
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Bartolino, James R. and James C. Co
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Hawley, J.W. 1986. Physiographic pr
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The Middle Rio Grande-Albuquerque R
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New Mexico Environment Department (
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S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc.
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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 2014
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Middle Rio Grande Region 12 RWP Mas
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Riley Middle Rio Grande Region 12 R
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Appendix 2-B Summary of Comments on
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Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Pl
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Appendix 6-A List of Individuals In
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Appendix 6-B Projected Population G
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Appendix 8-A Review of 2004 Strateg
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Appendix 8-A. Steering Committee Re
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Planning Region Middle Rio Grande M
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Regional Water Planning Update Proj
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Regional Water Planning Update Proj
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Regional Water Planning Update Infr
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Regional Water Planning Update Infr
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Planning Region Middle Rio Grande M
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Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan

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