- Reclamation
- Upper Colorado Basin
- Albuquerque Area Office
Albuquerque Area Office
The Albuquerque Area Office is one of the largest in Reclamation reaching from the Alamosa area of southern Colorado through most of New Mexico and into west Texas. Staff here manage delivery of water on the Rio Grande, Rio Chama, Pecos, and Canadian rivers from the main office in Albuquerque and six field offices in Alamosa, Colorado; Alamogordo, Chama, Elephant Butte, and Socorro, New Mexico; and El Paso, Texas. This office is also responsible for overseeing the management of nine major dams with a combined reservoir storage capacity of more than 3.5 million acre-feet that supply water for more than 439,000 acres of irrigated land and several municipal drinking water projects. They also oversee hydropower production at Elephant Butte Dam, and research and testing at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination and Research Facility.
News and Highlights
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News Release – November 18, 2024
Agreement reached for Rio Grande water storage in Abiquiu ReservoirALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Bureau of Reclamation, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District reached an agreement to allow storage of Rio Grande water in the water authority's allotted space in Abiquiu Reservoir for up to 10 years. This allows the continued operation of the Middle Rio Grande project while Reclamation moves forward with necessary Safety of Dams improvements at El Vado Dam. Read More
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Public Meeting Notification – October 30, 2024
El Vado Dam Construction Update
Representatives from the Bureau of Reclamation's Albuquerque Area Office will host a public meeting Thursday, Nov. 7, to update the local community on the status of the El Vado Safety of Dams project and answer questions.
Date: Thursday, Nov. 7, from 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Location: Heron State Park Visitor Center
194 NM-95
Los Ojos, NM 87551Meeting Agenda:
4:30 p.m. – Meet and greet
4:45 p.m. – PowerPoint presentation
5 p.m. – Q&A
5:30 p.m. – Repeat earlier PowerPoint presentation
5:45 p.m. – additional Q&A
6 p.m. – AdjournContact: Members of the public are encouraged to attend this public meeting. RSVP is not required. For additional questions/concerns, Email: ucbpao@usbr.gov
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News Release – October 21, 2024
Reclamation to conduct first fill test at El Vado Dam
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Bureau of Reclamation is set to evaluate the performance of El Vado Dam through a 'first fill test' over the coming months. This test will involve incrementally raising the water level in El Vado Reservoir to assess the dam's stability and performance at various elevations. Read More
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Public Comment Period – Oct. 4, 2024
Project Advanced Water Purification Facility – El Paso, Texas
El Paso Water has prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment to assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the development of a proposed Advanced Water Purification Facility that would be partially funded by Reclamation's Title XVI WIIN Act Water Reclamation and Reuse Program. The study area consists of approximately 13 acres at the EPWater Treatment Campus that houses the Jonathan W. Rogers Water Treatment Plant and Roberto R. Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in El Paso, Texas. The Title XVI Program includes funding for the planning, design, and construction of water recycling and reuse projects in partnership with local government entities. The AWPF will increase drought resiliency, reduce groundwater usage, and delay water importation. The AWPF will clean treated wastewater from the Bustamante WWTP, producing 7.6 mgd of purified water that will be blended with 2 mgd groundwater before distribution. AWPF source water will be treated through membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light disinfection with advanced oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, granular activated carbon filtration for peroxide quenching, stabilization, and chemical disinfection with chlorine. By implementing the AWPF, EPWater will reduce groundwater usage in both non-drought and drought years and continue to meet summer water demand in drought years. The facility will be the first large-scale direct-to-distribution potable reuse facility in the United States.
The Draft EA includes a feasibility analysis of potential impacts associated with the development of the AWPF. Reclamation complies with all Federal environmental laws and regulations, including NEPA, National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and other federally mandated regulations.
EPWater will consider substantive comments from the public and stakeholders for 30 days after the date of publication of this NOA. Please note all written and email comments received during the comment period will become part of the public record, including any personal information you provide.
A hardcopy is also available for review at EPWater's TecH2O Learning Center, 10751 Montana Ave., El Paso, TX 79935.
Comments should be sent to Carlos V. Dominguez, Jr., Utility Engineer, 1154 Hawkins Boulevard, El Paso TX 79925 (cdominguez@epwater.org). If you would like to submit comments or questions by telephone, you may contact the EPWater Communications office at 915-594-5510.
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News Release – September 23, 2024
Contract awarded for infrastructure improvements at Elephant Butte Historic DistrictALBUQUERQUE, NM. – The Bureau of Reclamation recently announced an $11.3 million contract award to ORCOM, a Division of Ortega Companies, Inc., for the first phase of an infrastructure improvement project at the Elephant Butte Historic District in New Mexico. Funding for this project is provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Read More
