Use and Management of Hydrologic Resources in New Mexico

NEW MEXICO REPORTAugust, 2006

Utton Transboundary Resources CenterUniversity of New Mexico School of Law

New Mexico

Water Work TableMesa de Trabajo Sobre Agua

New Mexico’s Geographic and Socioeconomic Profile

• State Capital – Santa Fe• Geographic Boundaries

North - Colorado South - Mexico and Texas East - Texas and Oklahoma West - Arizona

• Total Area: Surface area = 315,114 km2 121,666 Square Miles

• Federal Lands – 34.2% State Lands – 11.8% Native American Lands – 9.4%

• Political Subdivisions 32 counties

New

MexicoArizona

Texas

California

ColoradoUtah

Nevada

Oklahoma

Mexico

Population and Socioeconomics

State Population

1,903,000 (2005)• Rural – 672,876• Urban – 1,230,410

(U.S. Census Bureau)

140,855Santa Fe

189,444Las Cruces Metro Area

603,562Albuquerque Metro Area

PopulationMajor Urban Areas

Socioeconomic Profile• Per Capita Income

– Rural – USD $21,321– Urban – USD $27,033

• Poverty Rate– Rural – 20.2%– Urban – 16.3%

1,0011,056Agriculture

4,1073,801Health Care and Social Assistance

7,1056,635Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing

2,2842,158Finance and Insurance

4,4314,204Retail Trade

5,4665,238Manufacturing

4,7664,181Mining

61,01257,078Total Gross State Product

20042003Industry

(U.S. Department of Commerce – 2005)

Economic Activities

(in millions USD)

Hydrologic Resources of New Mexico

Precipitation averages:• Desert / valleys

8 inches (20.3 cm) / year• Mountains 30 inches (76.2 cm) / year

Most rainfall occurs in intense seasonal storms

Most precipitation falls in the mountains as snow

Gila River

Major river systems include:

• Rio Grande

• Pecos River

• Gila River (tributary to Colorado River)

• Canadian River

• San Juan River (tributary to Colorado River)

Major River Systems

New Mexico's Major Lakes and Reservoirs

www.usbr.gov

Drought in New Mexico

(USGS - 2004)

Reservoir Name

Capacity Level

Current Storage*

Maximum Storage*

Navajo 89% 1,503.4 1,696.0

Heron 38% 152.6 400.0

El Vado 59% 110.0 186.3

Abiquiu 31% 169.3 554.5

Cochiti 10% 50.5 502.3

Elephant Butte 22% 454.9 2,065.0

Caballo 6% 21.3 331.5

Brantley 23% 33.2 147.5

Santa Rosa 15% 65.9 447.0

Conchas 38% 96.6 254.0

(CLIMAS, University of Arizona)

*thousands of acre-feet

Reservoir levels as of March 2006 as a percent of capacity:

• 11 surface water basins

• Managed on watershed scale

(NMED - 1998)

Surface water

• 33 “Declared” groundwater basins

• State Engineer can only regulate water use in declared basins

Groundwater

(NMED - 1998)

Office of the State Engineer

• Established by New Mexico Statute

• Responsible for managing the allocation of ground- and surface water resources

• New Mexico Environment Department primarily responsible for monitoring water quality

New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission

• Operates within the Office of the State Engineer

Manages and oversees New Mexico’s compact obligations in 8 interstate

basins

• Animas-La Plata River Compact

• Canadian River Compact

• Upper Colorado River Compact

• Colorado River Compact

• La Plata River Compact

• Pecos River Compact

• Rio Grande Compact

• Costillo Creek Compact

Rio Grande Compact – • Purpose: To allocate the waters in the Rio Grande above Fort

Quitman, TX• Signed in 1938• Includes – Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas• Establishes a commission including the state engineers of

Colorado and New Mexico, an appointed commissioner from Texas, and a representative of the U.S. This commission meets annually

Pecos River Compact –• Purpose: To establish delivery obligations to Texas. This compact

is managed by a Pecos Compact commissioner• Signed in 1948• Includes – New Mexico and Texas• Problems: U.S. Supreme Court prohibits net shortfalls in delivery

rates. Drought and well-pumping have brought deliveries below this level for many years

• Colorado River Compact – Purpose: To determine and coordinate the flows, appropriation,

consumption, and use of water in the Colorado River Basin Signed in 1922 Upper Basin States – Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and

parts of Arizona Lower Basin States – California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and

parts of Arizona

• Upper Colorado River Basin Compact – Purpose: Creation of the Upper Colorado River Commision Signed in 1948 Commission includes – United States, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah,

and Wyoming

1906 Treaty with Mexico

• Convention between the United States and Mexico

• Equitable Distribution of the Waters of the Rio Grande

• 60,000 acre feet delivery requirement at Mexican Canal

• Extraordinary drought provision

(USFWS - 1999)

Water Use

(http://www.ose.state.nm.us)

Domestic Water Use

90% of state population uses groundwater for drinking

• Albuquerque

– Aquifer not as large as originally thought. Moving to use of surface water from San Juan-Chama Project. This is NM water pursuant to Colorado Compact, transbasin diversion for use in Rio Grande Basin

• Santa Fe

– Also relies primarily on groundwater. Will use San Juan-Chama water and lease surface water rights from Pueblos

San Juan-Chama Project

• Encompasses many planning regions

• Colorado River Compact water 110,000 AF annually

• Water to be used by: Albuquerque (largest share) Jicarilla Apache Santa Fe City and County Los Alamos County Espanola Belen Los Lunas Taos Bernalillo Red River Twinning Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District

(City of Albuquerque - 2006)

(USBOR - 2006)

Institutional Framework and Management of Hydrologic Resources

New Mexico follows the prior appropriation doctrine

• All appropriated waters must be put to beneficial use

– Beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure and the limit of the right to the use of water

• Priority shall give the better right

State Engineer - Administers the Water Codes for Surface and Groundwater

• Judicial process

• Who owns what water and in what amount

• Less that 20% of the state is fully adjudicated

• About 60% of the state has active adjudications in progress

• Middle Rio Grande, area of ½ population of state, has not been adjudicated

Adjudication of Water Rights

(OSE - 2005)

Water Planning in New Mexico

• State Water Plan was completed and approved by the Interstate Stream Commission in 2003

http://www.ose.state.nm.us/publications_state_water_plans.html

Extensive public involvement

Integrates regional planning efforts conducted statewide

Both the Office of the State Engineer and the Interstate Stream Commission are working to implement 98 strategies outlined in the Plan

2006 Status Report http://www.ose.state.nm.us/PDF/Publications/StateWaterPlans/swp-2006-06-

progress-report.pdf

Water Planning Regions

1 - Northeast New Mexico2 - San Juan3 - Jemez y Sangre4 - Southwest New Mexico5 - Tularosa, Salt and Sacramento River

Basins6 - Northwest New Mexico7 - Taos8 - Mora-San Miguel9 - Colfax10 - Lower Pecos Valley11 - Lower Rio Grande12 - Middle Rio Grande13 - Estancia Basin14 - Rio Arriba15 - Socorro-Sierra16 - Lea County

SW New Mexico Regional Water Planning

Population growth near border• Economic growth attributed to industrial operations and retirement communities will drive population increase

Majority of water use in border region is from groundwater

• Irrigation • Domestic • Industrial / Mining• Commercial

Water quality and quantity in transboundary Mimbres Basin• Salinity increases from Columbus, NM (north) to Palomas, CH (south)• Groundwater pumping has reversed water flow direction from south to north (NMWRRI, 2000 & SWNM Regional Water Plan, 2005)

(SWNM Regional Water Plan, 2005)

(NM WRRI - 2005)

Lower Rio Grande Regional Water Planning

Elephant Butte Reservoir• Stores water for irrigation for both New Mexico and Texas

• Established to help U.S. meet meet treaty obligations to Mexico

(LRG Regional Water Plan, 2003)

(NM WRRI - 2005)

Groundwater aquifers

• Mesilla, Hueco Bolson, Jornada del Muerto, Rincon Valley– Mesilla and Hueco Bolson are shared with Mexico and Texas

• Groundwater is recharged by leakage from the Rio Grande and irrigation return flows

Water Management Alternatives• Developed for each aquifer

• Recommendations to decrease demand in some sectors, and increase supply through desalination, phreatophyte management and use of reclaimed water

Active Water Resource Management

Measurement• Measurement and monitoring of ground-water, surface-water, snow-

pack, and water diversions

Management• Creation of water districts to allow the Office of the State Engineer to

enforce priority-based water administration of water in times of short supply

Markets• The state will streamline water markets in order to encourage the

more efficient use of limited resources

State Water Plan Goals: To ensure water is available for the continued and future economic vitality of the state; Protecting senior water rights

Lower Pecos Basin• Additional efforts being made to comply with the

Pecos River Compact and U.S. Supreme Court Amended Decree

• Hired additional water masters

Lower Rio Grande• AWRM will help meet critical needs in times of

reduced surface water flow

• Recent metering order and hiring of a water master

San Juan• Negotiations with the State Engineer for shortage

sharing agreements

• Hired a water master

Mimbres• The upper portion of the Mimbres will be managed

under the AWRM

• Hired a water master

Rio Gallinas• Area dominated by surface water rights with

controversy between acequias and municipal water use

Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque Basin• Hired water master for Aamodt adjudication. Affects

Pueblo and non-Pueblo water users

Rio Chama• State Engineer oversees administration of the San

Juan-Chama Project water

Sources

• Bureau of Business and Economic Research. University of New Mexio. Accessed on April 3, 2006. Updated on March 28, 2006. Available at: http://www.unm.edu/~bber/econ/sttpipci.htm

• Bureau of Economic Analysis. U.S. Department of Commerce. Available at: http://www.bea.gov/bea/regional/gsp. Accessed on March 20, 2006. Updated on October 26, 2005.

• City of Albuquerque San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project. Available at: http://www.sjcdrinkingwater.org/. Accessed August 18, 2006.

• Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc. (2005) Southwest New Mexico Regional Water Plan, May 2005. Available at: http://www.ose.state.nm.us/water-info/NMWaterPlanning/regions/SouthwestNM/southwestnm-menu.html.

Accessed August 16, 2006. • Economic Research Service. United States Department of Agriculture.

State Fact Sheets: New Mexico. Accessed on March 20, 2006. Updated 12/8/2005. Available at: http://www.ers.usda.gov

Sources

• Lower Rio Grande Regional Water Plan, August 2004. Available at: http://wrri.nmsu.edu/lrgwuo/page2.html. Accessed August 18, 2006.

• New Mexico Environment Department. 1998. Water Quality Control Commission. State of New Mexico. Water Quality And Water Pollution Control in New Mexico. A State Report Required By The U.S. Congress Under §305(b) of the Clean Water Act. Available at: http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/swqb/305b/1998/305b_98.html

• New Mexico Office of the State Engineer. 2005. Accessed on April 3, 2006. Updated 2005. Available at: http://www.ose.state.nm.us/

• New Mexico State Water Plan, 2003. Available at: http://www.ose.state.nm.us/publications_state_water_plans.html. Accessed August 18, 2006.

• US Bureau of Reclamation – San Juan-Chama Project. Available at: http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/sjuanchama.html. Accessed August 16, 2006.