Prolonged aridification of the RIO grande project area and heavy regional reliance on groundwater pumping, has caused a reduction in RIO grande project water supply, resulting in a decrease in project…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation under the SECURE Water Act - Research Agreements program (CFDA 15.560) provides $1,086,960 to the State Engineer, New Mexico Office of the (Interstate Stream Commission) to fund a variety of initiatives to enhance drought resilience and water management in the Rio Grande Project area. Key products and services under this award include:

1. Rapid assessment of existing stormwater infrastructure (dams, catchments) to evaluate potential for capturing stormwater to recharge aquifers and reduce sedimentation during monsoon events. This includes researching dam ownership, land access, structural conditions, and legal/institutional constraints.

2. Development and implementation of a plan to increase stormwater capture capacity at dams found suitable for aquifer recharge.

3. Research and evaluation of depletion management programs, including options for fallowing/leasing land and using open ET data to manage water use in the Rio Grande Project footprint.

4. Geophysical exploration, planning, and implementation of brackish aquifer development to supplement water supplies.

The award period runs from September 2023 through September 2028.

Prolonged aridification of the RIO grande project area and heavy regional reliance on groundwater pumping, has caused a reduction in RIO grande project water supply, resulting in a decrease in project efficiency. Additionally, during increasingly unpredictable monsoon seasons there are significant storm events that result in flooding to farmland, causing property damage, crop loss, and channel sedimentation. The areas of flooding are often in underserved, lower income communities with inadequate flood control capacity. Existing stormwater systems (i.e. dams, catchments) in the RIO grande project footprint have yet to be studied to understand the potential for developing stormwater storage at these sites to slow down baseflow during monsoon events, reduce channel sedimentation, capture stormwater to recharge the aquifer, and improve riparian habitat. Implementing a depletion management program and developing brackish aquifers would reduce system use, therefore enhancing water supply resilience and supporting RIO grande project deliveries. This award is part of an ongoing multi-agency program called the RIO grande drought resilience team. This project will assist with several different projects intended to augment ground and surface water supply, reduce sediment and flooding during monsoon events, and build drought resilience in the RIO grande project. Tasks include:rapid assessment of existing stormwater infrastructure (i.e., dams, catchments)develop a prioritized list of dams to assess.research the ownership of the dams, the land they are built on, and land needed to access them.assess their structural conditionsassess their ability to capture stormwaterassess legal and institutional constraintsdevelop and implement a plan for building stormwater capture capacity for dams that are found to have stormwater capture for potential aquifer recharge.depletion managementresearch other depletion management programs, including the intentionally created surplus program implemented in the bureau of reclamations lower colorado basin region.evaluate opportunities for fallowing and leasing land in the RIO grande project footprint and create plans for a fallowing leasing project.explore the role that open ET could fulfill in depletion management.brackish aquifer reuse and desalinationdevelop and implement a plan for geophysical exploration of the santa teresa aquiferdevelop and implement plans for additional brackish aquifer development.