WSP09398

• File Number: 8507
• Description: Rio Grande Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Rio Grande
• Date: 7/1/1997
• Title: Water Management Study: Upper Rio Grande Basin part 3
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

Addressing the Basin's Problems

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studies were conducted jointly by Boyle Engineering Corporation and
Parsons Engineering Science, Inc. Phase I of the initial feasibility study,
completed in 1993, compared water savings under two alternatives for
conveying surface water from Caballo Dam to the City of El Paso:
(1) construction of a lined canal paralleling the Rio Grande; or (2) enlarging,
lining, and extending EBID's existing canal system. The first alternative
estimated a savings of 37.1 billion gallons of water annually, Alternative two
estimated a savings of67.4 billion gallons of water annually. Phases II and
III of the initial feasibility study, completed in 1994, explored numerous
other options for providing Texas with year-round surface water supplies and
enhanced water quality. Additional options included: delivery of water via
the river channel; a pipeline that would carry Texas' Rio Grande Project
water from Caballo to El Paso; a canal parallel to the river from Las Cruces
to El Paso; water treatment plants; aquifer storage and recovery; and the
utilization of EBID's canal system. Original cost estimates for each option,
in excess of $500 million, were prohibitive and thus caused the Commission
to limit Phase I ofthe project from Mesilla Dam (near Las Cruces) to the
American Dam in El Paso and to utilize EBID's existing canal system.

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The final feasibility study of the Rio Grande conveyance, storage, and
treatment system remains in progress. Efforts from this study are presented
in two reports. The first report identifies recorded hydrologic information
and the second proposes a measurement program to obtain needed data for a
stream simulation model. The study area for both reports includes the
stretch of the Rio Grande from Elephant Butte Reservoir to Riverside Dam in
El Paso.

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In October 1996 a contract was awarded for the inquiry of another facet of
the final feasibility study. The focus ofthis study component is the
development of a water accounting or hydrologic model of the Rio Grande
from Elephant Butte Reservoir to Riverside Dam. The hydrologic model,
BESTSM, developed by Boyle Engineering Corporation will include
parameters on Rio Grande flows and water quality. The hydrological model
is expected to be completed by August 1997. Other on-going efforts
supported by the Commission include the upgrading of the Maddock
MODFLOW model of the lower Mesilla basin. The Commission currently
focuses almost exclusively on promoting consumptive uses of water. The
1991 settlement agreement stipulates that the parties "agree to work
together in a cooperative effort to maximize the utilization of waters
provided to New Mexico and Texas through the Rio Grande Project in order
to provide reliable and cost-effective water supplies to meet current and

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