WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Water Management in Colorado At Fault for Declining Plight of the Rio Grande

State of Colorado Warned
Contact: Jennifer Pelz 303-884-2702

SANTA FE, N.M. –Seeking to restore flows and dynamic river processes to benefit endangered species that inhabit the Rio Grande in central New Mexico, WildEarth Guardians today warned the State of Colorado that its administration and distribution of water in the headwaters of the Rio Grande imperils endangered species and therefore violates the Endangered Species Act.

“It is long past due time that someone held the State of Colorado accountable for the harmful effects of its water management on America’s Great River,” said Jen Pelz, Wild Rivers Program Director at WildEarth Guardians. “It is difficult to create a winning hand in the game of restoration in the Rio Grande in New Mexico when Colorado is sitting on at least half the deck.”

Sixty-five percent of the Rio Grande’s flow originates in Colorado, much of which is then diverted from the river to flood irrigate crops. That means the State of Colorado’s administration and distribution of its waters has an extraordinary impact on flows in central New Mexico, where the Rio Grande silvery minnow has been pushed to the bring of extinction.

WildEarth Guardians analyzed water flows at river gauges located upstream and downstream of diversions in the San Luis Valley, which show that the State of Colorado, at times, allows up to 98 percent of the flow in the river to be diverted and depleted during the river’s peak flows in May. 

The groups’ flow analysis also showed that Colorado’s diversions and depletions increase, as a percentage of the flow available, during times of drought. The net ecological effect is that while Colorado’s water management is harmful to the river’s health in wet years, it is even more damaging during drought years.

“Peak spring runoff no longer exists in the Rio Grande in central New Mexico in large part because the consumption in the San Luis Valley authorized by the State of Colorado,” added Pelz. “The Rio Grande silvery minnow relies on those peak flows to reproduce and we intend to hold the State of Colorado accountable for the harm it is causing to the species.”

WildEarth Guardians believes that Colorado can help restore the Rio Grande’s ecological health by creating an environmental water acquisition program that would not only benefit endangered species but also recreational boating interests as well. Guardians is working with water users in New Mexico and U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) to create such a program in New Mexico.

The groups’ notice of intent to sue the State of Colorado is the second notice filed this month under the Endangered Species Act as a part of Guardians’ campaign to protect and restore the Rio Grande, America’s third-longest and one of its most iconic rivers. Last week Guardians warned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of its Endangered Species Act violations.