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The hydrology of the Rio Grande is greatly
influenced by water management facilities and their operations.
Water management along the Rio Grande began as early as 1400
A.D. for the purpose of agricultural irrigation. Contemporary
water management in the basin evolved over decades, as a result
of separate compacts, treaties, and authorizing legislation,
plus the combined policies and distinct missions of multiple
agencies. The following is a description of facilities illustrated
on the map above and includes information regarding facility
ownership, date of completion, general location, authorizing
legistlation, purpose, water storage capacity, and dam structure.
Clockwise from upper left: Caballo
spillway, Leasburg dam,
Elephant Butte Dam, Elephant Butte Reservoir
| Ownership |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |
| Date of Completion |
Early 1990s |
| General Location |
San Luis Valley, Colorado |
| Authorizing Legislation |
Public Law 92-514 (1972) |
| Purpose |
To help Colorado meet
its required deliveries to New Mexico and to help Colorado,
New Mexico, and Texas meet their Rio
Grande Compact delivery requirements to Mexico; to
maintain the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge and Blanca
Wildlife Habitat Area; for irrigation and other beneficial
uses in Colorado. The project consists of 170 salvage
wells that remove groundwater from the aquifer in the
Closed Basin and discharge the water (60,000 - 140,000
cfs) into the Rio Grande. |
| Capacity |
Average annual production
(1986-1999) of 25,000 acre-feet with a low of 3,795 acre-feet
in 1986 and a high of 43,772 acre-feet in 1997. |
| Ownership |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(but operated by the Conejos Water Conservancy District) |
| Date of Completion |
1951 |
| General Location |
Conejos River, Colorado |
| Authorizing Legislation |
Section 7 of the Flood
Control Act of 1944 |
| Purpose |
Flood control, irrigation
water supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife enhancement.
The conservation pool is drained in spring to provide
space for snowmelt runoff as needed. Releases are managed
to maintain flows of 2,500 cfs at the Mogote gage and
1,600 cfs at the Los Sauces gage. |
| Capacity |
59,570 acre-feet at a
spillway crest elevation of 10,034 feet. |
| Dam Description |
Zoned earthfill, 131 feet
in elevation and 1,526 feet long. |
| Ownership |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |
| Date of Completion |
1971 |
| General Location |
Willow Creek on the confluence
of with the Rio Chama, New Mexico |
| Authorizing Legislation |
Public Law 87-483 (1962)
(San Juan-Chama Transmountain Diversion Project) |
| Purpose |
Storage and delivery of
San Juan-Chama (SJC) Project water (96,200 acre-feet);
provides up to 5,000 acre-feet of SJC water annually to
maintain recreation pool at Cochiti Lake. |
| Capacity |
399,980 acre-feet at a crest elevation of 7,192 feet.
|
| Dam Description |
Earthfill, 276 feet tall
and 1221 feet long. |
| Ownership |
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy
District (operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as
of 1956) |
| Date of Completion |
1935, with rehabilitation
in 1954-1955 |
| General Location |
Rio Chama, New Mexico |
| Purpose |
Storing water for irrigation,
recreation, incidental flood control, and sedimentation
control including prior and paramount Native American
water rights. |
| Capacity |
195,440 acre-feet at a
crest elevation of 6,902 feet. |
| Dam Description |
Random earthfill, 154
feet tall and 1,362 feet long. |
| Ownership |
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Date of Completion |
1963 |
| General Location |
Rio Chama, New Mexico |
| Authorizing Legislation |
Flood Control Acts of
1948 and 1950 |
| Purpose |
Flood and sediment control,
and water storage of SJC contractor water (all native
water inflow is bypassed up to the channel capacity of
1,800 cfs). If storage space is needed for large snowmelt
runoff or flood event, the Corps can release SJC water
in storage. |
| Capacity |
1,192,800 acre-feet at
a crest elevation of 6,350 feet; SJC water can be stored
up to an elevation of 6,220 feet. |
| Ownership |
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Date of Completion |
1973 (and closed in 1975) |
| General Location |
Middle Rio Grande, Sandoval
County, New Mexico; near the confluence of the Canada
de Cochiti, the Santa Fe River, and the Rio Grande and
just downstream of White Rock Canyon. |
| Authorizing Legislation |
Flood Control Act of 1960 |
| Purpose |
Flood and sediment control,
fish and wildlife enhancement, recreation, and irrigation;
storage of SJC water (~5,000 acre-feet) to maintain a
reservoir surface of 1,200 acres. All native water inflow
is released up to a channel capacity of 7,000 cfs at the
Albuquerque gage. |
| Capacity |
582,019 acre-feet at a
spillway crest elevation of 5,461 feet. |
| Dam Description |
Rolled earthfill embankment
with a crest length of more than 5 miles and a crest height
of 250 feet above the river bed. |
| Lake Description |
Extends 20 miles upstream. |
| Ownership |
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Date of Completion |
1970 |
| General Location |
Galisteo Creek, New Mexico;
near the confluence of Galisteo Creek and the Middle Rio
Grande |
| Authorizing Legislation |
Flood Control Act of 1960 |
| Purpose |
Flood and sediment control |
| Capacity |
88,900 acre-feet (but
is empty most of the time) |
| Dam Description |
Earthfill |
| Ownership |
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Date of Completion |
1953 |
| General Location |
Confluence of the Jemez
River and the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico |
| Authorizing Legislation |
Flood Control Act of 1948 |
| Purpose |
Flood and sediment control.
Native water inflow is bypassed up to a channel capacity
of 7,000 cfs at the Albuquerque gage. |
| Capacity |
102,700 acre-feet at a
crest elevation of 5,233 feet. |
| Ownership |
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy
District |
| Date of Completion |
1934 and rehabilitated
in 1958. |
| General Location |
Middle Rio Grande, New
Mexico; 5 miles upstream of Bernalillo |
| Purpose |
Diversion and delivery
of irrigation waters. |
| Capacity |
Diversion capacity of
650 cfs. |
| Dam Description |
Concrete wall weir structure,
800 feet long and 17 feet tall. |
| Ownership |
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy
District |
| Date of Completion |
1934 |
| General Location |
Middle Rio Grande, New
Mexico; 13 miles south of Albuquerque |
| Purpose |
Diversion and delivery
of irrigation waters. |
| Capacity |
Combined diversion capacity
of 1,070 cfs to the Peralta Main and Belen Highline Canals. |
| Dam Description |
Concrete gate structure,
673 feet long and 21 feet tall. |
| Ownership |
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy
District |
| Date of Completion |
1934 and rehabilitated
in 1957 |
| General Location |
Middle Rio Grande at San
Acacia, New Mexico |
| Purpose |
Diversion and delivery
of irrigation waters. |
| Capacity |
Diversion capacity of
283 cfs to the Socorro Main Canal. |
| Dam Description |
Concrete gate structure,
699 feet long and 17 feet tall. |
| Ownership |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |
| Date of Completion |
1916 |
| General Location |
Middle Rio Grande, New
Mexico; 3.75 miles east of Truth or Consequences |
| Authorizing Legislation |
Authorized in 1905 under
the provisions of the Reclamation Act of 1902 (authorizing
the Rio Grande Project) |
| Purpose |
Irrigation, flood control,
power generation, and recreation; SJC water storage for
City of Albuquerque in 50,000 acre-foot pool. |
| Capacity |
2,065,010 acre feet (78%
of original capacity) at the top of the prudent flood
pool elevation of 4,407 feet. |
| Dam Description |
Concrete gravity dam,
1,644 feet long and 302 feet tall. |
| Ownership |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(and operated in coordination with the International Water
Boundary Commission) |
| Date of Completion |
1938 |
| General Location |
Rio Grande, New Mexico;
17 miles downstream from Elephant Butte Dam |
| Authorizing Legislation |
International Treaty with
Mexico of 1933 (Rio Grande Rectification Project) |
| Purpose |
Irrigation, flood control,
power generation at Elephant Butte, and replacement storage
lost at Elephant Butte due to siltation; to meet treaty
deliveries of 60,000 acre-feet annually to Mexico's Acequia
Madre headworks; a minimum fisheries pool of 25,000 acre-feet
is maintained per a 1991 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
biological opinion. |
| Capacity |
331,510 acre-feet at the
top of exclusive pool elevation of 4,182 feet. |
| Dam Description |
Zoned earthfill, 4,560
feet long and 79 feet tall. |
| Date of Completion |
1919 |
| General Location |
Rio Grande, 5 miles northwest
of Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Purpose |
To raise the level of
the Rio Grande River, and thus raise the level of the
main canal, which farmers in the Mesilla Valley use for
irrigation. |
| Ownership |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(and operated in coordination with the International Water
and Boundary Commission) |
| Date of Completion |
1938 |
| General Location |
Rio Grande, 3.5 miles
upstream from El Paso, TX |
| Purpose |
Irrigation |
| Dam Description |
284 feet long |
| Canal Description |
Located on the east bank
of the river; was originally 2 miles long and was extended
by an additional 12 miles by the Rio Grande American Canal
Extension. |
| Date of Completion |
1968 |
| General Location |
Confluence of the Rio
Grande and the Pecos River, Texas |
| Capacity |
5,100,000 acre-feet |
| Date of Completion |
1954 |
| Capacity |
3,200,000 acre-feet |
Bullard, T. F. and S. G. Wells. 1992. Hydrology
of the Middle Rio Grande From Velarde to Elephant Butte Reservoir,
New Mexico. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Resource Publication
179, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Operations Fact Sheets:
- Abiquiu
Dam and Reservoir
- Caballo Dam and Reservoir
- Closed Basin Division, San Luis Valley Project
- Cochiti
Lake
- El
Vado Dam and Reservoir
- Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir
- Heron
Dam and Reservoir
- Jemez
Canyon Dam and Reservoir
- Platoro
Dam and Reservoir
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