Historically, the Borregos Arroyo emptied into a floodplain created by the Rio Grande. Originally, the river channel changed course as a result of flooding. The river would flow in one location until it had built its bed to a higher elevation than the adjacent lands. A high flow would then breech onto the lower lands and establish a new channel location. As a result, Reclamation performed floodway construction and channel rectification (channelization) activities on the Middle Rio Grande for the purpose of providing flood control. As part of Reclamation’s channelization program, a pilot channel and spoil dike were constructed to straighten out the Rio Grande and confine the river between a system of levees.

A spoil dike was constructed at the outlets of the Estaca, Lopez, and Borregos Arroyos in the late 1940s. However, the dikes currently restrict stormwater flows of three arroyos from entering the Rio Grande. In addition, the dike restricts irrigation ditch overflows and stormwater flows from adjacent properties from the entering the Rio Grande. As a result, the restrictions cause water to pond west of the dike on the adjacent landowner properties.