Zoom
— February 26, 2021
MRG Management Action Categories
Join us on February 26th at 3:30 pm to hear Anders Lundahl from the New Mexico Interstate Commission present:
“River-System Maintenance in the San Acacia Reach: Middle Rio Grande Project 2.0”
Abstract: The Middle Rio Grande Project was authorized and constructed in the late 1940s and early 1950s for a river-system with significantly different hydrologic and geomorphic conditions than exist today. Not only has the river-system itself changed over this time but so have the “values” that society places on its natural resources, which translates to how exactly the river-system is managed. This is driven both institutionally in the form of environmental laws and regulations as well as more organically in the manner and extent of public usage and engagement. This is in addition to needing to provide the water delivery and flood control benefits of the original project design. Nowhere in the Middle Rio Grande is this management challenge greater than in the San Acacia reach where sediment loads are often 2 or 3 times greater than in upstream reaches and surface water withdrawals and natural depletions result in reduced stream power, creating a significant imbalance between the major drivers of the river-system and a greater need for its management. Only through the development of a shared perspective of the river-system’s values and functions, viewed through the lens of appropriate spatial and temporal scales, can Middle Rio Grande water and resources managers hope to efficiently and effectively manage this complex river-system so as to meet all of the demands that society places on it.
Speaker Biography: Anders Lundahl has been a hydrologist and water manager for the Rio Grande Bureau of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission since 2006. He currently leads the RGB’s river maintenance program, contributes to the NMISC’s flood control effort, and assists in management of the Rio Grande Compact. His past responsibilities include working on ESA issues and specifically managing habitat restoration projects. Before his time at the NMISC he was a hydrologist for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. He has a BS in Earth and Planetary Sciences and a Masters of Water Resources, both from the University of New Mexico.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98660993666
This is the second presentation for the Aquifer Mapping Program 2021 Seminar Series: