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  5. Understanding New Paradigms for “Environmental Flows” and Water Allocation in the Middle Rio Grande River Basin in a Changing Climate

Understanding New Paradigms for “Environmental Flows” and Water Allocation in the Middle Rio Grande River Basin in a Changing Climate

A South Central CASC FY19 Grants Competition Project
Principal Investigator
Ali Mirchi

Dates

Release Date
2019
Start Date
2020-03-26
End Date
2023-03-25

Summary

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 [...]

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Contacts

Principal Investigator :
Ali Mirchi
Cooperator/Partner :
David Gutzler, Frank Ward, Zhuping Sheng, Gregory Torell, William Hargrove, Alex Mayer
Funding Agency :
South Central CASC
CMS Group :
Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC) Program

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RioGrande_USFWS.jpg
“Rio Grande. Credit: US Fish and Wildlife” 		thumbnail 105.93 KB image/jpeg

Purpose

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 for providing minimum environmental flows 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 this end, in this project we will provide scientifically plausible climate and river water scenarios and will conduct a systematic assessment of potential impacts of environmental flows using state-of-the-art hydrologic and economic models. We will assess the impacts of environmental flow scenarios in terms of changes in Rio Grande flow, crop production, and groundwater sustainability. Furthermore, the project will offer insights about the economic cost of securing water for ecosystems by compensating water rights holders. We will share the results of the project 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.

Project Extension

parts
typeTechnical Summary
valueThe goal of the proposed project is to provide to water managers and stakeholders in the Middle Rio Grande Basin (i.e., from upstream Elephant Butte Reservoir in NM, to Presidio, TX) a set of tools that empower them to make scientifically sound decisions to use water resources sustainably. While emerging water and land management practices have allowed agricultural and urban water users in this heavily managed system to adapt to frequent, prolonged droughts, little to no water is allocated to ecosystems unless water or water rights are purchased or transferred to sustain those systems. Riparian ecosystems will likely become more vulnerable as competition over scarce water increases in the face of growing demand and dwindling supply. Ongoing debates about providing environmental flows to sustain riparian ecosystems in this water scarce region have not been backed by quantitative modeling results of potential impacts on surface water and groundwater availability and associated costs and benefits. We will apply hydrologic and hydroeconomic modeling under different climate scenarios to evaluate environmental flow allocations and associated tradeoffs in this region to inform water resources management decisions. Specifically, our objectives are to: (1) develop scenarios of surface water availability under projected climate conditions; (2) improve and integrate existing hydrologic and hydroeconomic models; (3) evaluate environmental flow allocations and associated water management tradeoffs under current and projected climate conditions; and (4) convene stakeholder engagement meetings to disseminate results, address questions about environmental flows formulated by stakeholders and to seek stakeholder feedback. The project will provide a catalog of options for environmental flow allocation along with a systematic assessment of various water management and economic tradeoffs to sustain riparian habitats. Research outcomes will be transferrable to other areas where ecological sustainability has been significantly affected by financially-motivated water management.
projectStatusCompleted

Rio Grande. Credit: US Fish and Wildlife
Rio Grande. Credit: US Fish and Wildlife

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Type Scheme Key
RegistrationUUID NCCWSC 43abcbe3-2fc0-4240-aa28-b6fea7d81926
StampID NCCWSC SC19-MA1592

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