Pecos River, New Mexico - Collaborating for environmental benefits in an arid region
At the Pecos River in New Mexico, the Sustainable Rivers Program is working with the USACE Albuquerque District to convene stakeholders to discuss potential environmental flows in a river system that flows from the Rocky Mountains to the Chihuahuan Desert. Representatives from irrigation districts and multiple state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation, are working together to assess opportunities for new flow patterns.
Pecos River - The Pecos River watershed begins in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, at over 12,000 feet in altitude. The Pecos River flows generally south through high plains, canyon country, and the Chihuahuan Desert (photo by Ondrea Hummel, USACE).
Santa Rosa Dam and Reservoir - Santa Rosa Dam and Reservoir was authorized by Congress in 1954 and completed in 1981 (USACE photo).
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Story
The Pecos River drops out of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, at over 12,000 feet in altitude, then heads south through high plains, canyon country, and the Chihuahuan Desert. It crosses into Texas and eventually meets the Rio Grande downstream of Big Bend National Park.
In New Mexico, Pecos River waters are used for irrigation by both acequias and larger farms. Acequias date back to the Spanish exploration and settlement of the Southwest. Community-owned systems of irrigation ditches, acequias use gravity to divert water out of the river and into hayfields, orchards, and gardens. Acequias are senior water rights holders in the Pecos. Some of them have been in operation for more than 300 years, well before the establishment of the United States.
Three federal dams regulate the mainstem Pecos in New Mexico, one managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and two by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. In the upper reaches of the watershed, the Santa Rosa Dam was built by USACE in the 1970s and is designed to manage flood risk. It captures and stores snowmelt runoff from the Rockies. Read More
Partners
- USACE Albuquerque District
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
- Fort Sumner, Pecos Valley Artesia, and Carlsbad Irrigation Districts
- The Nature Conservancy
- State of New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Resources
Publications