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'~ '..~~.. ~:~: ':1 . i . J \) r:'."{'l 1 ~lil ~~crrt to the Rio Grande Compact Commission Bureau of Reclamation i:";1 ~-:.:1. r~~~ activities, and develop and implement alternative management practices appropriate for the basin, Within 2 years, the Bureau of Land Management will prepare a report on means to improve watershed conditions in the Rio Puerco Basin. The Act also authorizes $7,500,000 over 10 years for these activities. Low Flow Conveyance Channel Investigations Reclamation is in the second year of a 3-year comprehensive study of the Rio Grande Floodway and the Low Flow Conveyance Channel system between San Acacia Diversion Dam and Elephant Butte Reservoir. In recent years, increased streamflow in the Rio Grande and continuing sediment deposition have put the existing system under great stress, especially in the reach below San Marcial. Diversions to the Low Flow Conveyance Channel have been suspended since 1985 due to high reservoir levels at Elephant Butte Reservoir and sediment deposition in the head waters area. This study will resultin a plan for configuring and operating the system for continuing water conserv.ation benefits, maintaining system elements for effective valley drainage, . and minimizing costs while considering environmental needs and the protection of endangered species and their habitats. A full range of river flow and reservoir level conditions will be analyzed, Management bf the heavy sediment load of the Rio Grande is an especially important consideration. Facets of the study will include geomorphic, hydrologic, and biologic investigations. The study will consolidate and incorporate engineering and biological studies currently on-going under the Middle Rio Grande Project program. The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission is providing cost sharing and in-kind support for hydrologic and engineering studies. , f Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement will.. be integrated with these planning studies. A Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement was published in the Federal Register in December 1996, and in early 1997 formal public scoping meetings were held in Albuquerque and Socorro. Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model In January 1996, Reclamation, U.S. Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Geological Survey, and U,S. Fish and Wildlife Service, signed a Memorandum of . Understanding, agreeing to explore the feasibility and desirability of developing an Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model (URGWOM). Later in 1996, the International Boundary and Water Commission-U.S. Section, also signed the agreement. After extensive scoping and coordination with organizations in the water management community, the signatory agencies concluded that such a hydrologic 19