The United States is dedicating $60 million to save water along the Rio Grande

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico

The U.S. government will devote $60 million over the next few years to projects along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and west Texas to make the river more resilient to climate change and growing demands.

The funding announced Friday by U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland marks the first Inflation Reduction Act disbursement for a watershed outside of the Colorado River system. While pressures on the Colorado River have dominated the headlines, Haaland and others acknowledged that other communities in the West, from Native American reservations to growing cities and agricultural strongholds, are experiencing the effects of an unprecedented drought.

Water users and managers can’t afford to waste a drop, Haaland said, sharing advice her own grandmother used to give when she and her cousins ​​brought buckets of water to their home in Laguna Pueblo for cooking, cleaning and bathing.

“He was teaching us how beautiful water is in the desert,” Haaland said, standing among the cottonwoods that form a green belt that stretches along the river from the Colorado-New Mexico border south to Texas and Mexico.

Haaland noted that parts of the river have dried up along the Albuquerque stretch in recent years. In fact, a decades-long drought has led to record low water levels throughout the Rio Grande Basin.

“When there are drought conditions like this strike, we know it doesn’t just affect one community, it affects all of us,” he said, noting the importance of investing in water projects across the basin.

One of the longest rivers in North America, the Rio Grande provides drinking water to millions of people and supplies thousands of farmers with water for crops. Management of the river has sparked legal battles over the decades, with the most recent case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court as New Mexico, Texas and Colorado seek approval of an agreement to help ensure that have more flexibility in the future.

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico, said improving sustainability along the Rio Grande will help the state meet obligations in a decades-old pact to deliver water downstream to Texas and, finally, in Mexico.

Irrigation districts in southern New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, will work with the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to develop projects that will benefit the river and species in danger of extinction that inhabit the basin.

The work will range from capturing more rainwater runoff to improving the existing infrastructure. Officials said the savings could result in tens of thousands of acre-feet of water. One acre-foot is roughly enough to serve two to three US households each year.

In total, the Inflation Reduction Act provides $4 billion for drought mitigation in 17 western states, with priority given to the Colorado River Basin. However, the legislation also earmarked $500 million for water management and conservation projects in other watersheds that are experiencing similar levels of long-term drought.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said funding for other basins will be announced later this year, with the goal of using the money over the next four years.

In the Rio Grande, prolonged drought and heavy reliance on groundwater pumping have reduced the surface water supply, leading to decreased efficiency and loss of wildlife habitat.

By capturing more stormwater and increasing storage, officials said they could recharge aquifers and reduce irrigation demands.

Some of that work is already underway at the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, which serves about 5,000 farmers in southern New Mexico. Near the farming town of Rincon, officials are working to stem runoff and prevent sediment from clogging channels that feed the river.

It’s among several projects the irrigation district has proposed to federal officials to save water, protect communities from seasonal flooding and restore habitat.

Irrigation District Manager Gary Esslinger and Samantha Barncastle, a water attorney representing the district, traveled to Albuquerque on Friday to participate in a briefing with Haaland and other officials. They described the efforts as “re-engineering” the West with irrigation and flood control systems that can adapt to changing conditions.

“It’s a pretty big vision,” Barncastle said, “but it’s what everyone should be doing thinking big is the only way to solve the climate crisis.”