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<br />WATER RESEARCH NEWS
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<br />Colorado Water Congress, 1390 Logan St, Room 312, Denver, CO
<br />Editor, Robert Ward
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<br />RECEIVED
<br />MAR 1 71998
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<br />Colorado Water
<br />Conservation Bo<...r;:j
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<br />80203
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<br />Phone (303) 837-0812
<br />March 1998
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<br />INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM DEVELOPS
<br />RIO GRANDE DROUGHT ASSESSMENT PROCESS
<br />
<br />Introduction
<br />
<br />The Rio Grande River originates on the east slopes of the Continental Divide in a basin formed by the San Juan and the Sangre
<br />de Cristo Ranges of the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado. Its Colorado drainage basin is 8,900 square miles. The river
<br />then flows on through the States of New Mexico and Texas, ending its course in the Gulf of Mexico. AloJlg its way through
<br />New Mexico and Texas, the Rio Grande winds through some of the fastest-growing urban areas in the nation, and the current
<br />population is expected to continue to grow rapidly. From 1990 to 2010, U.S, border cities on the river are predicted to grow by
<br />as much as 86 percent. '
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<br />The river's annual streamflow is highly variable, and the basin
<br />area is geologically diverse. The climatic differences from the
<br />headwaters of the Rio Grande to El Paso are extreme. The Rio
<br />Grande and its tributaries span an altitude range of more than
<br />9,000 feet and traverse several climatological zones, from alpine
<br />tundra to Chihuahuan Desert. The Rio Grande from EI Paso,
<br />Texas to the Gulf of Mexico forms the international boundary
<br />between the United States and Mexico for 1,250 miles (2,010
<br />kilometers), United States and Mexico activities governing the
<br />waters of the Rio Grande and the demarcation of this river as the
<br />international boundary are entrusted to the International Boundary
<br />and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (IBWC).
<br />(Department of State. 1944, 1970).
<br />
<br />In 1997, water scientists in Colorado,
<br />New Mexico and Texas initiated a
<br />regional research project to define
<br />the existing engineering-
<br />institutional-economic system in
<br />place on the Rio Grande, to
<br />characterize probable drought
<br />scenarios, and to assess the
<br />capability of existing infrastructural
<br />and institutional systems to respond
<br />to drought.
<br />
<br />The Rio Grande Compact (1938) regulates the interstate flow of
<br />the Rio Grande between Colorado and New Mexico, and between
<br />New Mexico and Texas. A 1944 Water Treaty regulates the flow of the Rio Grande between the United States and the Republic
<br />of Mexico. Costilla Creek, located in Colorado and New Mexico, is regulated by the Costilla Compact of 1946 as amended in
<br />1963. Surface-water rights on the Rio Grande in Colorado and New Mexico exceed the mean annual flow of the river,
<br />
<br />To ovcrcome seasonal and multi-year water shortages and meet projected future demands in the Rio Grande Basin, federal and
<br />state governments have built an extensive network of water storage and conveyance systems. Regional water management
<br />systems have developed and linked the water resources of the Rio Grande to serve users in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.
<br />Yet, to date no comprehensive analysis has been conducted to provide the information needed to get through a drought period
<br />with minimal economic disturbance.
<br />
<br />In 1997, water scientists in Colorado. New Mexico and Texas initiated a regional research project to define the existing
<br />engineering-institutional-economic system in place on the Rio Grande, to characterize probable drought scemirios, and to assess
<br />the capability of existing infrastructural and institutional systems to respond to drought. The researchers set out to develop
<br />evaluative criteria that would identify economic damages of drought from the perspectives of each water-use sector: instream,
<br />agricultural, muncipal and industrial. To perform the drought assessment, three initial tasks were set forth by the interstate,
<br />imerdisciplinary team: Task 1: Formulate Credible Drought Scenarios; Task 2: Formulate a Hydrology-Institutions Model of
<br />the Rio GrandeBasin: and Task 3: Develop an Economics Drought Damage Component
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