Introduction

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The Rio Grande, also known as the Rio Bravo, runs nearly 1,900 miles from the mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. The Isleta Reach of the Rio Grande extends 34 miles from the Isleta Diversion Dam south of Albuquerque to the San Acacia Diversion Dam. Since 2016, Audubon New Mexico has engaged in innovative environmental water transactions with four Middle Rio Grande Pueblos, a private golf club, several private water rights holders, and municipalities to support riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

Learn more about riparian habitats in the Isleta Reach during the driest time of the year.

In New Mexico, water rights are distinct property rights not tied to land. As a result, they can be transferred among users temporarily or permanently. Water transfers are voluntary agreements to change when, how, or where water and/or a water right is used. Water transfers can occur through sale, lease, or donation, and they can be used to move water between agricultural, municipal, industrial, energy, and environmental uses. 

Environmental water transactions are becoming an increasingly common conservation strategy throughout western North America. Environmental water transactions can present a win-win for stakeholders even who sometimes have conflicting interests. For example, water rights holders in agricultural communities can benefit from diversified income and financial security through new revenue sources, and conservation organizations can better meet their goals by having increased water to support existing riparian habitats and/or restoration projects. The water transfers on the Isleta Reach represent mutually shared values for the Pueblos, municipalities, and Audubon, all of whom recognize the inherent value of water in the river. These water transactions in the Middle Rio Grande are part of a larger effort by Audubon NM to implement a water transfer program to support river flows throughout the state. 

Coordinating environmental water transactions on the Middle Rio Grande is a collaborative effort among federal and local water management agencies, water rights holders, and Audubon New Mexico. The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) are the primary water managers for the Middle Rio Grande in New Mexico. The BOR accounts for water storage in the system’s reservoirs and coordinates with water management agencies, including municipal water users, federal water managers and State interstate compact managers, to quantify and account for water allocations. The MRGCD coordinates very closely with BOR in regards to getting their water delivered to the Middle Rio Grande valley in New Mexico (at the outfall of Cochiti Reservoir). Once the water enters into their system, the MRGCD manages water diversions and rotations through the system to ensure efficient delivery of water to their users.

Key Issues Addressed

Rivers in the arid southwestern United States face increased demands on water supply from a growing human population, exacerbated by the effects of rising temperatures and frequent droughts. In the Rio Grande, groundwater pumping and stream channel modifications have led to a depletion of natural flows and loss of riparian habitats. Water in the Rio Grande is fully appropriated, meaning that little to no water is dedicated to supporting riparian habitats. Water transactions focused on supporting water for the environment can help mimic natural flood regimes and provide needed moisture for existing and restored riparian areas.

Project Goals

• Coordinate environmental water transactions to support riparian vegetation in the Middle Rio Grande
• Establish partnerships and build a framework for environmental water transactions throughout the Rio Grande watershed

Project Highlights

Ripple Effect: In 2018, three municipalities—Isleta Pueblo, Los Lunas, and Belen—partnered with Audubon New Mexico to deliver water to the Isleta Reach, including potential renewal for 10 years. 

• Pueblos Support River Flows: Recognizing the inherent value of a healthy river, four sovereign pueblo nations provided 100-acre-feet of water each to be released as in-stream flow in the summer of 2016. The pueblos of Sandia and Isleta voluntarily donated water, and the Cochiti and Santa Ana Pueblos supplied water in exchange for funding riparian restoration work on tribal land.
• Momentum from Private Stakeholders: After hearing of the Pueblos’ donation, the Club at Las Campanas, a private golf club in Santa Fe, donated an additional 399 acre-feet of water leased from the Jicarilla Apache Nation, for a total of 799 acre-feet of water released in 2016. Then, in 2018, a historic partnership with municipalities delivered 999 acre-feet of water to the middle Rio Grande during a significantly dry period. This also included water from Las Campanas.
• Sustaining Restored Habitats: The flows provided by these water transactions can augment ongoing restoration efforts along the Isleta Reach by providing the environmental conditions needed to support newly established riparian vegetation. For example, the Pueblo of Santa Ana has been engaged in floodplain bosque restoration since 1998, and the increased water availability can allow them to expand their restoration efforts and provide a direct benefit to the Pueblo by restoring the bosque ecosystem for cultural and recreational use.
• Using Existing Infrastructure: The water released in the Isleta Reach was delivered through existing outfalls with adjacent wetland habitat. The water helped sustain this habitat which is used by birds and wildlife as the river recedes during the driest time of the year.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination: Environmental water leases were secured through a multistep process:
  • Audubon New Mexico reached out to and negotiated with each water rights holder to acquire water for the transactions, and entered into contractual agreements for the leased or donated water.
  • After the water transactions were contracted, Audubon New Mexico coordinated with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to move all water from upstream reservoirs to the Abiquiu Reservoir and then coordinated with the Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (Authority) to move the water into the Authority’s environmental pool. The environmental pool was created as part of an Endangered Species Act (Rio Grande Silvery Minnow) settlement agreement between environmental groups and the Authority.
  • Once the water was stored in the environmental pool, Audubon New Mexico coordinated with BOR and MRGCD to schedule the release of the water to target environmental flows in the Middle Rio Grande.
  • Audubon New Mexico openly communicated with BOR and MRCGCD throughout this process to ensure that the leased water was being used beneficially in coordination with environmental water the BOR manages within the Middle Rio Grande. 

Lessons Learned

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Developing strong partnerships among water managers, such as the Bureau of Reclamation and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, and water rights holders has been essential to the success of these water transactions. Having a third party facilitate transactions helped streamline the process by dividing some of the tasks that would normally fall solely on the agencies. 

Economic incentives are not always needed to catalyze water transactions. Municipalities, pueblos and private stakeholders involved cite the inherent value of water in the river as motivation for participating in these transactions. This work demonstrates the willingness of local communities to invest in the environment.

Isolated transactions are not effective alone over the long term. However, these temporary water transfers can help set the stage in the region for a more comprehensive water market in which these transactions are more common. For example, the combined water donations of the municipalities of Isleta Pueblo, Los Lunas and Belen are expected to support 55 days of flow.

Public outreach through regular press releases proved essential to gaining support which can help encourage municipalities and private entities to participate in similar water transactions that support riparian habitats. 

Environmental water transactions can make restoration a more worthy investment by mitigating some of the uncertainty associated with relying on unpredictable flows in the Rio.

Next Steps

• Continue water leasing with municipalities, sovereign pueblo nations, private parties, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District
• Work with existing partners to strengthen the water transaction program

Funding Partners

• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• The Bonneville Environmental Foundation
• The Coca Cola Foundation
• Turner Foundation
• Thornburg Foundation
• McCune Foundation

Resources

• Article on Sandia Pueblo’s Voluntary Environmental Flow: The Surprising Gift From New Mexico’s Pueblos That Might Save the Rio Grande
• 2016 Article on Combined Environmental Flow Commitments: Audubon Announces Historic Water Release to the Middle Rio Grande
• Article on September 2016 Environmental Flows: More than 260 Million Gallons of Water Began Flowing Into the Parched Rio Grande This Month
• September 2016 National Geographic Blog: Native Americans and Conservationists Collaborate to Return Vital Flow to the Rio Grande

Contact

• Paul Tashjian, Director of Freshwater, Audubon New Mexico: ptashjian@audubon.org

Case Study Lead Author

• Ashlee Simpson, CART Graduate Research Assistant, University of Arizona

Suggested Citation

Simpson, A., C., and Grabau, M., R. (2018). “Water Transactions to Support Riparian Ecosystems in the Isleta Reach of the Rio Grande.” CART. Retrieved from https://www.fws.gov/project/water-transactions-isleta-reach.