Activists spotlight river crisis along Rio Grande in Albuquerque

Activists gathered along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque over the weekend to press state and local leaders on low snowpack, rising heat and shrinking reservoir storage. In Bernalillo County, the river’s condition affects water security, bosque access, recreation and how well the corridor can buffer summer heat.

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority serves more than 650,000 residents, and its Southside Water Reclamation Plant discharges about 55 million gallons a day of treated effluent into the Rio Grande. That flow helps keep roughly 6.5 miles of connected river alive.

The Rio Grande Compact, signed in 1938, governs water-sharing obligations among Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Elephant Butte Reservoir stood at less than 13% capacity, most reservoirs in the Rio Grande system were below 15%, and New Mexico’s remaining reservoirs have almost no storage for the Middle Rio Grande Valley. The Middle Rio Grande has already dried through Albuquerque twice in the past three years.

Advocates are pressing for river-protection legislation and stronger state commitments to the Strategic Water Reserve. New Mexico Wild invested more than $20 million into New Mexico water reserves and restoration projects this year alone. Senate Bill 37 strengthened the reserve after a proposed $50 million appropriation was cut to $5 million before advocates secured full funding in the next session.

The Middle Rio Grande Restoration Project began in 2011 in a 26-mile reach around Albuquerque to restore bosque habitat and wetland function, and New Mexico environmental groups have backed $218 million in conservation and restoration funding requests. Nearly $64 million in state water project funding was earmarked for protection and restoration, including about $20 million for contaminated-site cleanup.