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Page 2 |
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Newsletter |
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• The minimum flow of the Rio Grande will be reduced by 2/3's (250 cfs to 70 cfs). In the summer months of many years, when the City's water demands are the greatest, the depleted condition of the river as it passes through Albuquerque will be apparent to everyone. • The project will decrease the amount of water available for downstream farmers, for river and bosque ecosystems, and for complying with legal water delivery obligations to users below Elephant Butte Reservoir. • The diversion dam and canal will inadvertently capture fish, including the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow, and further disrupt their upstream migration. The City claims to have taken the river into account and denies that these river diversions will be significant. Independent analysis of the project by Rio Grande Restoration's consulting engineer has found that the city's plan is flawed and that other alternatives, if implemented, might achieve a more desirable balance between a healthy river and a sustainable aquifer. To avoid jeopardizing the Rio Grande, the City of Albuquerque must review its current proposal and consider the following actions • Adopt a more aggressive water conservation program and reduce per capita water demands. (Despite earnest conservation efforts, Albuquerque still remains among the highest water consumers in the West; the City's own figures indicate that 40% of Albuquerque's water is applied to turf.) • Reduce the size of its river diversions, and resolve water quality issues at the same time, by recharging the aquifer with treated effluent. • Tithe a percentage of the project's water supply to assist the Rio Grande during inevitable dry times. The Rio Grande is of critical importance to our own quality of life as well as the needs of our downstream neighbors and other species. How do we as a community come to terms with a limited water supply? What does "sustainable" really mean? Are we sustaining a wasteful lifestyle at the expense of the Rio Grande or will we consider the river's needs as a part of the balance of uses? What choices are we willing to make to preserve a living river? |
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Bosque Project Underway (Continued) |
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City Water Plan Threatens Rio Grande (Continued) |
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River Song |
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The Project offers the opportunity for ongoing community participation. Our outreach efforts will continue, inviting the participation of teachers and students, community leaders, churches, synagogues, and neighborhood associations. In addition to specific activities, such as pole planting, there will be ongoing stewardship projects. The Bosque Education Demonstration Project is a joint effort of Rio Grande Restoration, City of Albuquerque Open Space Division, and the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park, with the cooperation of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. For further information or to participate, contact Rio Grande Restoration's Albuquerque office, (505)266-3609. |
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ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE Phone: 505-751-1269 |
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In this troublous time, ecological restoration work represents a gallant gesture of sodality with our fellow beings here on Earth, an effort to counter the trend of extinctions, and the sincerest possible expression of concern for life's future. Stephanie Mills, In Service of the Wild |