Transcript Low - New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute

Historical Water Management
in the Lower Rio Grande
Lower Rio Grande Water
Users Organization
August 19, 2005
J. Phillip King, P.E., Ph.D.
The Rio Grande Compact of 1938
• Researched and negotiated among Colorado,
New Mexico, and Texas between 1925 and 1938
• Explicitly divided the surface water of the Rio
Grande among the states, and providing for
delivery to Mexico
• Sliding scale dependent on supply
• Capped depletion in upstream states
• Accounting rules and obligations allow flexibility
within each state
Compact
Geography
Otowi
Compact NM
Compact TX
The Rio Grande Project
• Water rights appropriated January 23, 1906
• 90,640 water-righted acres in Elephant Butte
Irrigation District (EBID) in New Mexico
• 69,010 water-righted acres in El Paso County
Water Improvement District No. 1 (EPCWID) in
Texas
• 60,000 acre-feet of water for the Republic of
Mexico by the Treaty of 1906
• Operated as a single irrigation system by Bureau
of Reclamation
Thousands
Project History in a Nutshell
2,000
1,800
2003-2005 Drought II
Release from Elephant Butte, AF
1,600
1,400
Compact
Districts
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
1915
1938-1950
The
Roaring
'40s
1915-1937
Start-up
1925
1935
1945
1979-2002
The Wet
Years
1951-1978
Drought I
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2005
Project Terminology
• Release – Flow of water from Caballo Dam
• Diversion – Removal of water at Project
structures – Percha, Leasburg, Mesilla,
American, International Dams
• Delivery – Flow from District canal to farm or
non-agricultural use
• Return Flow – Drains, operational spills, storm
flows, WWTP discharge
• River Efficiency – Diversion/Release
Current Project Allocation Procedure
• Usable water in storage determined
• Total diversion determined based on
actual river efficiency
• Mexico allocation by formula
• Remaining diversion split between EBID
(57 %) and EPCWID (43 %)
Thousands
D2 – River Efficiency Relationship
1,200
Project Diversion, AF
1,000
800
38-50
51-78
79-02
03-04
05
D2
600
400
200
0
0
200
400
600
800
Release from Caballo, AF
1,000
1,200
1,400
Thousands
District Hydrology
Caballo
Diversion
Return
Rio Grande
at El Paso
Deep Percolation
Groundwater
Drainage
Drain
Flows
Non-irrigated
Land
Storm
Storm
Flow
ET
Precip
Bypass (spill)
Discharges
Irrigated
Land
Storm
M&I
Users
Seepage
Exfiltration
Pumping
Deep Perc.
Pumping
Deep Percolation
Rio Grande
Imported Water
Exported Water
Storm
Flow
Pumping
Delivery
Seepage
Bypass (spill)
ET
Precip
Conveyance
System
Atmosphere
Release
ET Precip
The LRG Regional Water Plan
• Prepared by the LRGWUO
• Recognizes the hydrologic connection between
Mesilla and Rincon aquifer systems and the Rio
Grande
• Recognizes the need to “keep the river whole”
• Recognizes need to clarify obligation to Texas
• Ongoing negotiations among EBID, EPCWID,
and Bureau of Reclamation to clarify obligation
to Texas
Active Water Resource Management
• State administering groundwater in the absence
of a completed adjudication
• State’s standard issue tool is priority
administration
• Local users have the ability to develop
alternative administration rules
• Advantages:
– Future new uses will rely on surface water
– Current junior uses can use surface water rights to
move up in priority
– Intelligent conjunctive management of surface water
and groundwater is possible
• Requires cooperation among LRGWUO
members and State
Old School
• Adversarial
• Egos, conflicting agendas, cloak-anddagger games clog the process
• Time and money consuming
• Destructive
• Bad for all concerned
A New Paradigm
•
•
•
•
•
Principled negotiation
Common ground kept in mind
Cool heads prevail
Accurate, objective data analysis
Recognize obligations
From the Rio Grande Joint Investigation:
“… The cordial willingness with which the official
representatives of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas
entered into the undertaking exemplified constructive
statesmanship… Each of these States is vitally concerned
with its own welfare, yet in the Rio Grande Joint
Investigation each recognized its obligation to its sister
States; each accepted the principle that an equitable
adjustment of conflicting interests in the waters of the river
is imperative.”
Frank Adams, Harlan H. Barrows
Chairman, Consulting Board, February 1938