Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan

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Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan Comments Last Updated 05/24/2016 Comment Page Paragraph or Section Number Number Number 148 24 5.5.2, last bullet on pg 149 25 5.5.2, 2nd paragraph on pg 150 5.5.2, 2nd paragraph on pg 151 26 6.1, bullet on Riparian ET Comment The assumption keeps groundwater demand as a steady figure, but should surface water decline, groundwater usage is likely to increase. See, "the demand for water does not necessarily decrease when the supply is diminished." 6.5.1 Water Demand Projection Methods This paragraph describes the kind of data that is needed to provide a more accurate depiction of climate changes from year to year. Please see attached figure providing more variation than a single line, this is from the 1997 Water Budget, modified to show the predicted effects that a warmer climate will have on the surface water supplies Showing more variation than a single line, please see attached figure, modifying the 1997 Water Budget to show the predicted effects that a warmer climate will have on surface water supplies. Re: not including riparian evapotranspiration in demand. Poof, if not included, it doesn't exist. But we know it does, and is a large consumptive use. It affects categories of users and thus options. Planning is not just to close a gap. It is linked to who is using what so that the gap can be closed. Add text "In the Middle Rio Grande region, the updated draft water budget estimated that riparian evapotranspiration in recent years was about 150,000 acre‐feet per year." See additional attached notes. Comment Type (Technical or Process) Commenter Steering Committee Comments Common Technical Platform Common Technical Platform Common Technical Platform Common Technical Platform 152 26 Section 6.1 The CTP also does not include open water evaporation, another large consumer. As mentioned in 6.1, together in 1995, the two consumptive uses were roughly 44% of our water consumption. These two Common Technical consumptions are not just a drop in the bucket, and they have to be included to be a part of the solution. Platform 153 26 Introduction, general 154 26 Section 6.1, bullet on instream uses 155 27 Section 6.1, 1st paragraph on pg While data and information has been supplied, there is no indication that it has made any difference to what is included in the draft chapters ("…though this value has not been quantified in the supply/demand gap calculation, it may still be an important use in the region, and if the region chooses, it may recommend instream flow projections in its policy, program, and project recommendations.") Delete this bullet. Why is this bullet included in present uses? Re: depletions: Shomakers report showed that in 1995, withdrawals equaled 600 kaf and depletions 340. However, the users' percentages significantly changed. Again, if this is to be a plan to close a gap, one has to know whose actions are creating the problem and whose water is currently hurting or helping, and whose water is going to be used to solve it. 156 29 Section 6.2.1, last sentence of the section Remove the sentence that says "Little farmland has been sold, with most farmers and ranchers trying to hold on." Throughout the document, it is urban centric, and makes conclusions which may or may not be the case. How does this help the plan? 157 30 Section 6.2.2 Update the information on the Santolina development. "The master plan for Santolina was approved by the County Commission in June 2015. The master plan will provide for residential development for 95,000 people and large‐scale commercial development on tracts of 200 to 2,000 acres. Water is expected to be provided by ABCWUA." 158 32 Section 6.2.3., 2nd paragraph on pg Change test to: "The Rancho Cielo proposal has been changed to the multi‐modal center and some of the water rights acquired earlier have been transferred, some to Rio Rancho." Common Technical Platform Technical Common Technical Platform Technical Technical Technical Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard 159 34 Section 6.3, What about MRGOG's 2040 population projections? Technical Elaine Hebard top of page 160 35 Section 6.4, Per capita use is already 127 for ABCWUA. Technical Elaine Hebard 3rd paragraph on pg 161 36 Section 6.4 Add this information to the end of the paragraph on irrigated agriculture (top of page 36): "With the loss Common Elaine Hebard of agriculture, aquifer recharge may be reduced. Loss of agriculture will also result in loss of habitat, green belt, food security, air quality enhancement, and other benefits." Technical Platform 162 36 Section 6.4 Better accounting is available showing recharge benefits and should be incorporated into the CTP. Common Technical Platform Elaine Hebard Figure attached in notes Figure attached in notes See notes for references and further information on ET Page 14 of 17
Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan Comments Last Updated 05/24/2016 Comment Page Paragraph or Section Number Number Number 163 36 Section 6.4, end of 2nd paragraph on pg 164 36 Section 6.4, last paragraph on pg 165 37 Section 6.4, last sentence on reservoir evap 166 38 Section 6.5.1, 1st paragraph pg 38 167 38 Section 6.5.1, 1st paragraph pg 38 Comment Modify the last sentence to read "Other techniques such as drip irrigation and center pivots may reduce Technical the amount of water diverted, but if the water saved from such reductions is applied to on‐farm crop demands, water supplies for future uses and downstream uses will be reduced. Data exists to show much the benefits (of agricultural irrigation efficiency) and as such, would be helpful to have in order to plan. Whose plan is this? 100‐150 kaf evaporative loss, charged against total Compact consumption, and no change is assumed? How can we justify planning to reduce the consumptive use, perhaps with our neighbors? The statement "..but the demand for water does not necessarily decrease when the supply is diminished" contradicts the extreme drought supply, 5.5.2, which assumes that demand stays the same. "Therefore, for planning purposes, it is assumed that existing rights, reflected in the administrative water supply, will be exercised by the owner when needed or may be leased to other users." This statement depends on who owns those rights and how they are currently being used. Comment Type (Technical or Process) Commenter Steering Committee Comments Common Technical Platform Common Technical Platform Technical Technical Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard 168 40 Section 6.5.1, If water use changes (due to decline in the agricultural economy) the ways to plan for it will change too. Technical Elaine Hebard 2nd paragraph, last sentence 169 41 Section 6.5.1, paragraph on reservoir evap How does the reduction in reservoir size ‐ ie less evaporation ‐ help or hinder the region, Compact‐wise? Technical Elaine Hebard 170 42 Section 6.5.1, top of pg 42 171 42 Section 6.5.1, 2nd paragraph of pg Why report the range of projections for reservoir evaporation? If not included to begin with, we don't have to account for it, right? If the "..fluctuations in reservoir evap are expected to be much greater than the high/low range projected using this method.." than what method should be used? How much is the range? How is that reflected in the CTP? 172 general Section 6.5.1 Where are the climate change impacts? Drought is included but the steady decline of surface water supplies, the change in snow melt, ‐‐both amount and timing, the increase in ground temperatures represent information we need to plan for any gap and is not calculated in the CTP. 173 42 6.5.2,2nd paragraph of section Second paragraph of Section 6.5.2 states "Demand in the public water supply category is projected to increase under both scenarios, proportional to the increasing population projections, but the demand increase is moderated by phased‐in conservation, as discussed in Section 6.4." How does the moderation impact the proportional increase? Remember the ABCWUA is already below 130 gpcd. 174 42 6.5.2, last Earlier, the Update draft says that farmers are already selling out. What this seems to say is that those sentence on pg water rights will still be used, even if transferred. However, if transferred to urban groundwater use, the impacts and thus the solutions are quite different. What are the projections for such transfers? 175 43 6.5.2, 2nd paragraph on pg Delete text: "Under the low scenario, it is expected that some ranches will go out of business because younger people, who do not view ranching as a desirable or economically viable career choice, will not replace the older generation of ranchers." Another example of urban‐centric. The farm data provided shows an increase in acreage under production. Perhaps, given the exodus from Albuquerque, the plan should say, in a different section, that … because younger people, who do not view New Mexico as a desirable or economically viable career choice, will not replace the older generation of urban dwellers? Common Technical Platform Common Technical Platform Common Technical Platform Technical Technical Technical Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard Elaine Hebard 176 7 First part is not gaps but issues Technical Elaine Hebard 177 44 Section 7, 1st The RG Compact affects the JyS and S/S regions also. What does this bullet mean? What should we do Technical Elaine Hebard bullet with this insight that the regions are linked? 178 44 Section 7, 3rd What proof is there that there will be "wet years beyond when more water is what was available than in Technical Elaine Hebard bullet 2010"? 179 44 Section 7, 4th bullet Where are the subregional plans for the other two basins? Technical Elaine Hebard Page 15 of 17
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Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Pl
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Table of Contents Executive Summary
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List of Figures 1-1 Location of Mid
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5-12 Leaking Underground Storage Ta
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MCL MCLG MDWCA MRCOG MRGAA MRGCD MR
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Executive Summary The Middle Rio Gr
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Planning Method For this RWP, water
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appropriations are available in the
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channel aggradation. These changes
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In 2014, the U.S. Environmental Pro
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• Bosque and other riparian habit
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1. Introduction The Middle Rio Gran
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The organization of this update fol
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2.1 The New Mexico Interstate Strea
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2.2.1 Identification of Regional St
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Table 2-1. Steering Committee Membe
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Table 2-2. Middle Rio Grande Region
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Jicarilla Apache Nation Reservation
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Sierra water planning region. Geogr
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Table 3-1. Summary of Demographic a
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4. Legal Issues 4.1 Relevant Water
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In addition to Tri-State, several c
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Socorro, Valencia, Bernalillo, Sand
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Authority’s application sought to
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equires the NMOSE to conduct hydrol
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3. Allow for the declaration of dom
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provided for another review procedu
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Source: NMOSE, 2014a and 2014c La J
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4.1.3 Federal Water Laws The law of
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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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Page 200 and 201: 6.5.2 Middle Rio Grande Projected W
Page 202 and 203: Table 6-5 Projected Water Demand, 2
Page 204 and 205: Within Bernalillo County, the high
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Page 208 and 209: • Priority for Continued Implemen
Page 210 and 211: When the 2004 RWP was developed the
Page 212 and 213: Table 8-2. Key Collaborative Progra
Page 214 and 215: Table 8-2. Key Collaborative Progra
Page 216 and 217: Bartolino, James R. and James C. Co
Page 218 and 219: Hawley, J.W. 1986. Physiographic pr
Page 220 and 221: The Middle Rio Grande-Albuquerque R
Page 222 and 223: New Mexico Environment Department (
Page 224 and 225: S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc.
Page 226 and 227: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 2014
Page 228 and 229: Middle Rio Grande Region 12 RWP Mas
Page 230 and 231: Riley Middle Rio Grande Region 12 R
Page 232 and 233: Appendix 2-B Summary of Comments on
Page 234 and 235: Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Pl
Page 250 and 251: Appendix 6-A List of Individuals In
Page 252 and 253: Appendix 6-B Projected Population G
Page 254 and 255: Appendix 8-A Review of 2004 Strateg
Page 256 and 257: Appendix 8-A. Steering Committee Re
Page 280: Planning Region Middle Rio Grande M
Page 284: Regional Water Planning Update Proj
Page 288: Regional Water Planning Update Proj
Page 291: 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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