Technical Report

2022 RiverEyes Monitoring Report

URL: https://webapps.usgs.gov/mrgescp/documents/McKenna_2023_2022-RiverEyes-Monitoring-Report.pdf

Date: 2023/02/24

Author(s): McKenna C.

Publication: Prepared for Bureau of Reclamation by GeoSystems Analysis, Inc., 13 p.

Abstract:

GeoSystems Analysis Inc. was contracted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to conduct daily river monitoring and reporting during 2022 as part of a cooperative interagency effort to document the extent and duration of channel drying in the Middle Rio Grande (MRG). In this report, the MRG refers to the Rio Grande from Cochiti Dam to Elephant Butte Reservoir. The monitoring effort (referred to as “RiverEyes”) assists with meeting requirements under Reasonable and Prudent Measure 4, and Terms and Conditions 3.2, 9.1, and 9.2 of the December 2016 Final Biological and Conference Opinion for Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Non-federal Water Management and Maintenance Activities on the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico (2016 BO). When flows fell below key thresholds known to increase flow intermittency risk, field observations were relayed to an interagency water management team and, particularly when flow intermittency occurred, reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to support endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus) rescue and relocation activities.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains a network of streamflow monitoring stations throughout the MRG that publish real-time, provisional streamflow to the internet (e.g., https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nm/...). Per the contractual agreement with Reclamation, field reconnaissance within specific high-risk segments of the MRG was conducted when streamflow was below 300 cubic feet per second (cfs) at USGS 08354900 Rio Grande Floodway at San Acacia, New Mexico (NM); below 80 cfs at USGS 08331160 Rio Grande Near Bosque Farms, NM; or below 100 cfs at USGS 08330000 Rio Grande at Albuquerque, NM. During 2022, the daily average streamflow fell below the 300 cfs threshold at the San Acacia gauge in March and April. On May 25, as runoff declined, streamflow fell below 300 and looked likely to decrease further. Periodic spot checks began the next day. The monitoring team conducted regular, near-daily field reconnaissance in this Reach from May 31 through October 7. The daily average flow at the Bosque Farms gauge fell below the 80 cfs threshold for the first time on June 14 and crews started regular, near daily monitoring in the Isleta Reach that day. Monitoring officially ended in the Isleta Reach on October 3. Average daily flow at the Albuquerque gauge fell below the 100 cfs threshold periodically from July 19 through September 23 and crews monitored the Angostura Reach through this timeframe, especially when reported discharge fell below ~75 cfs. To augment flow recession in the San Acacia Reach, from June 2 to June 7 the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) pumped 230 acre-feet into the Rio Grande at the Socorro Hub (the former Neil Cupp pump site), near river mile (RM) 90 with an average flow rate of 20 cfs (Marken 2022).

Channel drying began in the Angostura Reach on July 22 and the Reach reconnected on July 26. Drying was first observed in the Isleta Reach on June 16, and the last day was September 26. In the San Acacia Reach, the first day of drying was June 5, while the last day was September 24. Table 1 summarizes relevant dates and the maximum single day dried extent within each reach. The largest single day drying event was on July 26 in both the San Acacia (35.6 RMs; the “Reachwide” rows in Table 1) and Angostura (10.7 RMs) reaches, while the maximum extent dried on a single day in the Isleta Reach occurred on July 25 (14.0 RMs). Riverwide, the maximum extent dried on a single day happened on July 26 (rounds to a total of 60.0 RMs dried; 35.6 RMs in the San Acacia Reach, plus 13.6 RMs in the Isleta Reach, and 10.7 RMs in the Angostura Reach). There were several periods of channel drying in the San Acacia and Isleta reaches, totaling 42 and 31 days respectively. In the Angostura Reach, channel drying lasted five days in a single period. At least a portion of the MRG experienced channel drying for 49 total days. Drying affected two distinct segments of the San Acacia Reach, two segments of the Isleta Reach, and one segment of the Angostura Reach.