Winter 2002-2003 Bulletin

Amigos Bravos Joins Farmers and Environmentalists in Protest of Albuquerque's Plan to Tap the Río Grande

 

The largest and most significant water transfer case in New Mexico history—the City of Albuquerque’s diversion of San Juan/Chama water––is beiing argued in virtual isolation. Press coverage has been scattered at best and discussion of issues critical to farmers and environmentalists have been poorly reported. Moreover, the case, which involves the drying up of 16 miles of the Río Grande and delivering treated effluent to downstream users, is being heard in Santa Fe – far from the ears of those most affected by the City’s plans. The significance of the case is rivaled only by the significance of the coalition of organizations opposed to the City’s plan. Farmers and environmentalists—natural allies historically pitted against each other by misunderstandings and political posturing—have joined forces to file a protest with the State Engineer and propose viable alternatives. The coalition of protestants include the Socorro Soil and Water Conservation District, the Assessment Payers Association of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, and Alliance for the Rio Grande Heritage members including the Sierra Club, Rio Grande Restoration, New Mexico Public Interest Research Group, and Amigos Bravos. The Coalition is being represented by attorneys Peter White, Mary Humphrey, and Connie Odé, as well as our lead consultant Bill Miller. The City’s plan proposes to build an inflatable dam across the Rio Grande in the northern part of Albuquerque and divert up to 103,000 acre feet of river water per year to be used for municipal purposes. The diversion of that much water will at times dry up the sixteen mile section of the Río Grande that runs through the heart of the city. Consequences of this proposal are monumental. The City’s plan will result in diminishing river flows and thus impairing downstream water rights holders as well as the State’s obligations to deliver water to Texas under the Rio Grande Compact. As the river dries, the cottonwood bosque throughout the city will die. The drying of the river above the sewage treatment facility means that the Rio Grand downstream will be composed of 100% treated effluent. Farmers will be forced to irrigate with treated sewage that contains numerous pharmaceuticals, steroids, hormones, and toxics, which are not removed from return flows by the City’s wastewater treatment facility. Fish, birds and other wildlife that are dependent on a healthy river and bosque will be seriously impacted. A grim scenario, but an accurate one unless the City’s plans are seriously modified. Amigos Bravos and all Coalition members understand that the City is in a water supply crisis and that solutions must be found. The City has a per capita consumption rate of 205 gallons per day per person. Moreover, over 70 gallons of water per person per day is used for turf irrigation, including golf courses and lawns – can you imagine, the City is using more water to maintain grass than the 60 gallons per person per day that the State assigns to Mutual Domestic water systems! The City is pumping from its supply wells at rates that will dry up the aquifer within twenty five years. The pumping is creating hollow underground chambers that are collapsing and creating sink-holes at the surface, threatening homes and human lives. In search for a solution, the City has targeted ‘new’ sources of water–– the San Juan/Chama water–– from the river. Unfortunately, the way the City proposes to use its San Juan/Chama water will dry up the river while still drying up the aquifer — it is a lose lose proposition. To complicate matters further, even the availability of San Juan/Chama Project water is in question. The San Juan/Chama Project takes water from the Colorado River Basin and pumps it through tunnels below the continental divide to Heron Reservoir in the Río Grande basin. The Project can divert up to 96,400 acre feet of water per year and the City has a contract to use 48,200 acre feet of that water. Last year only 6,000 acre feet of San Juan Chama Project water made it into the Río Grande basin – not enough to satisfy even 12% of the City’s share, let alone the claims of the other contract-users of that water. Admittedly, last year was the most serious drought in recorded history. However, last year goes to show that the availability of San Juan/Chama water is unpredictable. Moreover, Amigos Bravos contends that future claims by the Navajo Nation and endangered species issues in the Colorado River basin begs the question of whether thirty years from now any San Juan/Chama water will make it to the Río Grande. Amigos Bravos fears that the City’s plans will not only impair farmers and the State while killing the Bosque in the short term, but that in the long term it will be a waste of the three hundred million dollars the project will cost to build. Okay, so where is the win win scenario? At this point in history, the solution involves some hard decisions we all have to make. We—and by extension the politicians and decision-makers—have to face the fact that we live in a desert that cannot support an ever-expanding population using an unrestricted amount of water. Hey, don’t shoot the messenger, this is a fact. So, for the City not to exhaust its supply of water or kill the river, per capita consumption must be reduced to below 150 gallons per person per day AND, there has to be a cap placed on new subdivisions and industrial uses of water. Not so bad, given the alternative! In fact, if the City was to restore the Bosque and associated wetlands, it could improve quality of life of its residents by improving wildlife habitat and increasing recharge of water to its aquifer. Over a two-week period in mid-December, the Coalition and the City argued their cases before a hearing officer for the State Engineer. Due to the complexity of the issues, the hearing will be continued for another two weeks, beginning February 24, during which time the State’s Water Rights Division will make its arguments – to be followed by rebuttals from the City and the Coalition. The Coalition recognizes that an outright denial of the permit by the State Engineer is politically highly unlikely. Therefore, we have proposed that the City and the State agree to place conditions on the permit that will protect water quality and downstream farmers while keeping the river alive. Barring such agreement, the Coalition has a strong legal and factual case that we are committed to taking to District Court if necessary. Stay tuned! Call Amigos Bravos or visit our web page for updates.

 

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