The irrigation outlook for the Middle Rio Grande isn’t great, Anne Marken says, and Corrales in particular is in for a sparse season. But the worst has been avoided for now. The shortage’s cause? Culprits familiar to anyone who follows water issues in Central New Mexico: poor winter precipitation and early high temperatures.
Marken, river operations manager for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, said the river has already gone dry south of Albuquerque. She said the local sector of the river could see that fate in May or June. Marken said the Rio Grande has only gone dry twice in the last 40 years in the Albuquerque sector. Recent rainfall, she told the Corrales Comment, has helped keep current river flows going longer than expected, but hasn’t increased the amount of available water. “It’s been beneficial,” Marken said. “But not the boon we were hoping for.”
She said Corrales isn’t facing an immediate halt to irrigation deliveries. A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project in the area has included a “berm” that increased the elevation of the water, allowing the pumps that serve the village to keep running. She said the bureau is moving on to the second phase of its project, which may mean the berm goes away, leaving the pumps potentially unable to run. Marken said this is the last year Corrales will be in that bind, because construction is underway on a replacement for the Corrales Siphon. Marken said that project should be completed by the end of the year, meaning Corraleños in 2027 will receive water in parity with the other communities served by the MRGCD.
She told the Corrales Comment the disappointing weather means irrigators will need to be flexible this season, and prepared to accept irrigation deliveries on very short notice.
Marken said the district is looking for ways to soften the blow to Corrales, including monitoring precipitation and taking advantage of sudden opportunities to open the pumps to the village.