Understanding New Paradigms for “Environmental Flows” and Water Allocation in the Middle Rio Grande River Basin in a Changing Climate Completed
Water management in the middle portion of the Rio Grande Basin (between Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico and Presidio, Texas) is challenging because water demand has continued to increase over time despite limited river water and dropping groundwater levels. While urban and agricultural users can cope with frequent droughts by using a combination of river water and pumping groundwater, little to no water reaches living river ecosystems in this region. Improving this situation requires a good understanding of river water and groundwater availability, now and in the future, as well as advantages and disadvantages of water management options to sustain these ecosystems. In particular, there is a need to determine how frequently river water would be available to provide minimum “environmental flows”, or the quantity, timing, and quality of water flows needed to support ecosystems and human communities, along the Rio Grande. It is also important to estimate economic gains and losses from using water for ecosystem protection instead of using it for other purposes.
To help provide a scientific basis for understanding these issues, the project researchers will provide scientifically plausible future scenarios of climate and river water and will conduct a systematic assessment of potential impacts to environmental water flows using state-of-the-art hydrologic and economic models. They will assess the impacts of different environmental flow scenarios in terms of changes in Rio Grande flow, crop production, and groundwater sustainability. Furthermore, the project will offer science-based insights about the economic cost of securing water for ecosystems by compensating water rights holders. The results of the project will be shared with water management organizations and interested stakeholders in the Middle Rio Grande Basin for their evaluation, feedback, and use in decision making. The outcomes of the project will inform sustainable water resources management dialogues in the southwestern U.S. and other regions facing similar challenges of providing minimum environmental flows to ecosystems.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 5d49b75ee4b01d82ce8de6e8)
Water management in the middle portion of the Rio Grande Basin (between Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico and Presidio, Texas) is challenging because water demand has continued to increase over time despite limited river water and dropping groundwater levels. While urban and agricultural users can cope with frequent droughts by using a combination of river water and pumping groundwater, little to no water reaches living river ecosystems in this region. Improving this situation requires a good understanding of river water and groundwater availability, now and in the future, as well as advantages and disadvantages of water management options to sustain these ecosystems. In particular, there is a need to determine how frequently river water would be available to provide minimum “environmental flows”, or the quantity, timing, and quality of water flows needed to support ecosystems and human communities, along the Rio Grande. It is also important to estimate economic gains and losses from using water for ecosystem protection instead of using it for other purposes.
To help provide a scientific basis for understanding these issues, the project researchers will provide scientifically plausible future scenarios of climate and river water and will conduct a systematic assessment of potential impacts to environmental water flows using state-of-the-art hydrologic and economic models. They will assess the impacts of different environmental flow scenarios in terms of changes in Rio Grande flow, crop production, and groundwater sustainability. Furthermore, the project will offer science-based insights about the economic cost of securing water for ecosystems by compensating water rights holders. The results of the project will be shared with water management organizations and interested stakeholders in the Middle Rio Grande Basin for their evaluation, feedback, and use in decision making. The outcomes of the project will inform sustainable water resources management dialogues in the southwestern U.S. and other regions facing similar challenges of providing minimum environmental flows to ecosystems.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 5d49b75ee4b01d82ce8de6e8)