'We're here to celebrate resilience': With El Vado Reservoir under construction, deal inked to store Rio Grande water at Abiquiu

It took no less than an act of Congress to allow for Rio Grande water to be stored in the Abiquiu Reservoir.

After several years, and a piece of federal legislation, the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a deal Wednesday to allow for more flexibility for water storage on the Rio Grande.

It’s the first time that native Rio Grande water will be able to be stored at Abiquiu Reservoir. Previously, only imported water from the San Juan-Chama project could be stored there.

“Now that might not sound like a big deal, but it really, truly is,” said Bernalillo County Commissioner and Water Authority Board Chairman Eric Olivas.

Here’s how it works.

Mark Kelly, water resources division manager for the ABCWUA, said that native water might be plentiful in the springtime after snow melts. But come summer, that flow might turn into a trickle if there’s no way to store the excess water.

The reservoir stores water from big spring runoffs and meters it out slowly, giving the river a natural boost when the water levels are lower.

It’s a win-win for flooding and drought.

“If it’s coming down too much in springtime, we get flooding. It’s not good for the infrastructure,” Kelly said. “It’s a much better idea to be able to meter it out at a slower pace.”

It’s also a helpful tool for water conservation, Kelly said.

“It prevents us from having to rely so much on our groundwater wells,” Kelly said. “We’re trying to keep our groundwater aquifer as a kind of storage for times that we really need it.”

Think of the reservoir as a checking account. Withdrawals can be made to keep water flowing. But the savings account — groundwater — will remain untouched except for more extreme situations.

Increasing water storage locations is especially important as El Vado Reservoir is out of commission as it goes through a $33 million rehabilitation project, which has stymied its storage capacity. El Vado reservoir has a capacity of approximately 180,000 acre feet — each acre foot is about 326,000 gallons — while Abiquiu Reservoir can hold 230,000 acre feet.

The 2020 Water Resources Development Act also allowed for an additional 30,000 acre feet of storage at the site.

“We’re here to celebrate resilience,” said Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor.

Connor said “archaic” rules limited the source of the water allowed in the reservoir, until Congress made the change in 2020. After that, landowners in the area had to grant easements to allow for the increased capacity before the agreement could be signed.

The dam was constructed in the 1960s as a dry dam, said Lt. Col. Jerre Hansbrough, Albuquerque district commander for the Army Corps of Engineers. Years later, it started to be used for water storage.

There are a handful of smaller reservoirs around Santa Fe. Elephant Butte is also used to store water farther south.