Abiquiu Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1948, approved on June 30, 1948 (Public Law No. 858, 80th Congress, Chapter 771, and 2nd Session) and by the Flood Control Act of 1950, approved on May 17, 1950. In 1949, the Project Document was published as House Document No. 243, 81st Congress, and 1st Session. It recommended construction of the Chamita Dam on the Rio Chama for the control of floods and sediment on the Rio Grande. By the Flood Control Act of 1948 and 1950 Congress authorized the construction of the Chamita Dam. ["Abiquiu Dam History" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.] Later, project investigation showed that it was more practical and economical to build a high dam at Abiquiu and a low dam at Chamita in lieu of a single high dam at Chamita. This plan was adopted. Subsequently, Chamita Dam was deleted by the Flood Control Act of 1960. Further, construction of Abiquiu Dam was begun in the year of 1956, limited operations of the Dam began in the year of 1962, finally the construction was completed and reservoir operations were begun on February 5, 1963. ["Abiquiu Dam History" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.] Abiquiu Dam is part of the Corps of Engineers water resource development plan for the Rio Grande Valley. Through Abiquiu's control of the Rio Chama, which is one of the largest and most sediment laden tributaries of the Rio Grande, downstream lands are relieved to a great degree of the threat of floods and clogging of the river channel by silt. Abiquiu Dam was designed by and built under the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District. Abiquiu Dam. ["Abiquiu Dam History" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.] It was constructed at a total cost of $21.2 million. The dam controls runoff of snow-melt and rainfall from a 2,146 square mile mountainous watershed. The dam is an earth embankment structure 354 feet (108 m) high and 1,800 feet (550 m) long, containing 11.8 million cubic yards (9,022,000 cu. m.) of fill. [NDPD, Standford University]
UNDERSTANDING OUR FOCUS
Figure 2: Diversion Structures
[Credit: Rebecca Dias Braz]
Considering our focus on Rio Chama River, the broad definition of “Infrastructure” can be boiled down to understanding the Acequia infrastructure better. Dams and diversion networks are two important infrastructure systems to consider while we discuss about Acequias. There are 18 Acequias with 12 diversions structures in Rio Chama. From Figure 2, we can conclude that there are 3 concrete diversion structures and 9 rock diversion structures. Figure 3 and Figure 4 below provides a good idea about the types of diversions in Rio Chama river.
Figure 3: Rock Diversion in Rio Chama [Picture Credit: Smriti Chaulagain]
Figure 4: Concrete Diversion Structure by the Chamita-Hernandez
[Picture Credit: Dr. Mike Harvey]
Large Infrastructure and Water Operation in Rio Chama
Figure 5: Map describing components of the San Juan Chama Project
[Source: Albuquerque Bernalilo County Water Utility Authority]
The major infrastructure projects along the Rio Chama include the Bureau of Reclamation’s San Juan – Chama Diversion Project, Heron Dam and Reservoir, El Vado Dam and Reservoir, Abiquiu Dam and Reservoir, and the multitude of acequia structures and canals. El Vado Dam was built by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District between 1933 and 1935 as the primary storage facility for the District. Construction of the San Juan – Chama Project diversion tunnels and Heron Dam was completed in 1971. Through a series of tunnels in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, roughly 110,000-acre feet of water is diverted under the Continental Divide from the San Juan River basin to the Rio Chama annually. This water is allocated among water users throughout New Mexico. The water operations of the Rio Chama are heavily dependent on the demand on water from downstream users. Because of the San Juan – Chama Diversion Project, the flows in the Rio Chama are no longer exclusively native. The additional water brought in from the project is allocated to various entities throughout New Mexico. These include: the City of Albuquerque, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, Santa Fe County, Los Alamos County, Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District, the City of Espanola, the Village of Belen, the Village of Los Lunas, the City of Taos, the Town of Bernalillo, the Town of Red River, and the Twining Water and Sanitation District. The water allocations of the project are further detailed in the table below. As water is passed between the diversion tunnels and the three reservoirs along the Rio Chama, it is moved depending on who is calling for it and for how much they are requesting. Often, entities will engage in water sharing practices, storage leasing agreements, and come together to support environmental flows in the Chama so the accurate accounting of water is crucial. In the summer, when the majority of water is being moved down from the upland reservoirs, the Bureau of Reclamation will increase flows released from El Vado to Abiquiu on the weekends in order to allow for rafting of the Wild and Scenic portion of the Rio Chama.
ACEQUIA
Figure 6: Acequia by the South Valley
[Picture Credit: Smriti Chaulagain]
Acequia is a man made irrigation ditch that brings water from a river or stream to a parcel of land through unearther and sometimes concrete culverts. Currently, drought conditions impact the local acequias in the lower chama. In response to recent drought conditions, Rio de Chama Acequias Association (RCAA) and the Asociación de Acéquia Norteñas de Rio Arriba have worked with the NMOSE, with technical assistance from the New Mexico Intersate Stream Commission (NMISC), on securing alternative water supplies when available and, when those are exhausted, implementing voluntary shortage sharing programs, including rotations and voluntary curtailment (NMISC, 2013a). With much of the water in the basin during drought years destined for downstream San Juan-Chama contractors, the implementation of a shortage sharing system to efficiently manage the limited supplies available to local acequias is a key issue. [NMOSE, July 2016] Although, the San Juan-Chama project focuses on Inter-basin transfer from basin where water is available, to another basin where water is less available or could be utilized better for human development, it is found that the local acequias aren’t given the priority that they should be given. The stretch of the Rio Chama between El Vado Reservoir and Abiquiu Reservoir is designated as a Wild and Scenic River, intended to protect its free-flowing nature. There are only two very minor permitted diversions in this stretch (which predate the Wild and Scenic River designation), and a group of local stakeholders have spearheaded the Rio Chama Flow Optimization Project, which aims to improve management through this stretch for environmental, recreational, and acequia benefits. This leadership have helped understand other things like baseline site conditions and current flow demands to determine how dam releases could be modified to improve habitat for downstream aquatic organisms and riparian habitat by performing a variety of tasks including: mapping riparian vegetation; evaluating correlations between plant communities and different fluvial geomorphic surfaces; performing tree ring analyses to evaluate relationships between flow management [NMOSE, July 2016]
DISCUSSION
Primary Infrastructure Issues – Acequias Maintenance “Funding for repair and maintenance of Acequia infrastructure is an ongoing issue.” [Rio Chama Regional Water Plan, July 2016] Meanwhile, it's equally important to understand background of how funding works before coming to a conclusion. The New Mexico State Legislature appropriates funds from the Irrigation Works Construction Fund to the State Engineer for grants for improvement and repair work on specific acequias. Ninety percent of the project cost, up to $150,000 per project can be covered by the grant. Total construction costs under this program are capped at $167,000. [Acequias Construction Programs, OSE] This exemplifies that cost per project is less than the projected project cost i.e. there is a deficit of $17, 000 for repair and maintenance work. Further the local people might have to invest to maintain their Acequia networks. This can be a good explanation why Acequia systems are facing funding issues.
A Case Study on Dhungedhara: Similarity & Comparison with Acequias Human Relation with the system Dhungedhara is a traditional stone water tap found extensively in Kathmandu which was commissioned by various rulers of ancient and medieval Nepal. The system uses gravity and rainwater to transport and store water through wells, ponds, canals, pipes, and carries cultural significance of an ethnic group in the Kathmandu Valley. Over the past 20 years, with increasing political instability and declining government funding, municipal pipelines have also fallen into disrepair. Due to the unreliability of municipal pipelines, many people now rely on these stone spouts (Dhungedhara) for water because they may be more dependable and are often free. While there were once 389 functioning stone spouts situated as a comprehensive water distribution network across the Kathmandu Valley, 45 no longer exist and 68 have run dry. If the stone spouts’ water flow continues to dry up, a diverse range of religious and ethnic groups in the Valley will lose vital access points to worship and drinking water.
Figure 7: Traditional Stone Water , locally known as Dhungedhara extensively found in Nepal [Source: Nicholas Griffin]
Figure 8: Local people utilizing these Dhungedhara for drinking water purpose. [Source: Nicholas Griffin]
Cultural Relations with the system & Comparision with Acequias Commitment to maintaining Acequias network as the villager’s primary irrigation supply have bonded villagers together over the years and carry cultural significance. Similarly, Dhungedharas represent a fundamental element of the Kathmandu Valley’s intangible and tangible cultural heritage. These both systems are part of environment’s infrastructure system. Maintaining Dhungedharas and Acequias systems wouldn’t solely help the current water situation in Kathmandu or solve the irrigation issues in New Mexico respectively. However, preservation of tradition shouldn’t be forgotten because one’s culture represent their community, and community represents a society. Fast forward 100 years, it would be hard to imagine a world without these cultural traditions in existence. I believe that young generation people like us should be responsible to understand the importance of these systems and preserve them.