Restoration of the Rio Grande Restoration of the Rio Grande Between El Paso, Texas and Between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, ChihuahuaCiudad Juarez, Chihuahua

Charles D. Turner, Alfredo Martinez, and Jessica Retana

Project Summary

• The development and assessment of scenarios that would allow Rio Grande to remain “wet” through the year in the El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

• The formation of a bi-national river restoration work group

• Provide a clear understanding of the hydrological and engineering conditions, institutional challenges, a biological inventory, and GIS maps of the study area

Rio Grande / Rio Bravo

Stream FlowStream Flow

Problem Statement

• The Rio Grande has been transformed into a highly structured channel to meet water supply and flood control needs

• The potential impact of restoring a portion of the Rio Grande is the reduction in the efficiency of the existing water delivery network

Research Questions

• What are the impacts of restoration• How to minimize those impacts• Integrate a wet Rio Grande• Impacts to existing water institutions

Conceptual Design Alternatives

Category Description

Alternative 1 Baseline DataCurrent hydrologic and engineering structure of the Rio Grande.

Alternative 2No intervention and undisturbed recovery

Restore the river without including engineering solutions to reduce the impact to the system

Alternative 3 Engineering DesignUse of engineering solutions or structures to mitigate potential impacts to system

Alternative 4 In-ActionEvaluate the existing system and evaluate potential future conditions

2006 Irrigation Season

March 2006 October 2006

Mesilla Dam

March 2006 October 2006

Conclusions

• Stream flow is the result of the water delivery network

• Design scenarios developed– within existing river management– with minor adjustments– rethink some policies

• Rio Grande Restoration Committee

Acknowledgments• Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy

(SCERP) • Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ)• Center for Environmental Resource Management (CERM)• Junta Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento Juarez• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)• International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC)• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE) Department• Congressman Silvestre Reyes• Peter Brock, Rio Grande Watershed Federal Coordinating Committee• El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU)• El Paso Health Foundation• The City of El Paso• The City of Sunland Park• Dr. Jorge A. Salas-Plata• Dr. Rene Franco Barreno

Questions?