The Rio Grande is managed well, dry spells are normal

One hundred years ago, the New Mexico state Legislature passed the first Conservancy Act, which provided the legal framework for the formation of conservancy districts throughout the state; two years later, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District was formed with a mission to provide river flood control, manage groundwater, and deliver irrigation water.

The Rio Grande through central New Mexico in the late 1800s and through the mid-1900s was often unpredictable and dangerous, with frequent periods of drying, large flood events that damaged and destroyed communities, and an uncontrolled water table that prevented agriculture production in large sections of the valley.

Today, we have infrastructure such as dams and levees constructed by the MRGCD, Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that have made the Rio Grande more reliable from year to year and safer from seasonal flooding. This infrastructure is directly responsible for the current bosque ecosystem we enjoy along the middle Rio Grande.

Seeing the Rio Grande dry in the Albuquerque area is a sight that is unusual for longtime residents. It is important to know that portions of the Rio Grande go dry in the middle valley annually and have done so for more than 100 years. The fact that Albuquerque has only experienced drying twice in the last 40 years speaks to the success of the infrastructure constructed along the Rio Grande.

The current challenges we face on the Rio Grande are due to 1) natural factors, such as higher temperatures and a lack of rainfall, and 2) infrastructure challenges, such as the inability to store water in El Vado Reservoir while the federal government is rehabilitating it.

The MRGCD works year-round to provide river flood control, drainage, and irrigation to the Middle Rio Grande Valley, which includes more than 11,000 irrigators whose land and efforts can be counted as part of the $40.23 billion economic impact that the New Mexico agriculture sector is a part of generating, according to the annual Feeding the Economy Report.

Water is not a Middle Rio Grande Valley issue, it is a New Mexico issue. Let us work together to protect it by focusing on the value farmers, agriculture and ecological recreation bring to the state and minimizing the noise created by out-of-state activist groups.

A century ago, New Mexico leaders understood the importance of prioritizing our water. Let us hope that in another hundred years, our future generations can say the same for us.

Jason Casuga is the CEO of the MRGCD.