The Upper Colorado Region is responsible for managing and protecting water and associated resources including project facilities, endangered species, and many other environmental considerations. As drought continues to persist in the Upper Colorado Region and throughout the West, the challenge of fulfilling this responsibility increases, making wise management of our finite water resources imperative. Part of the Upper Colorado Region's role in addressing these challenges is to bring competing interests together to find consensus-based approaches to the contemporary water challenges in the West.
Reclamation's Albuquerque Area Office (AAO) plays an important role in making this happen. As a responsible community member, the AAO collaborates with other organizations whenever possible. For example, Reclamation works with state of New Mexico offices, federal agencies, irrigation districts, cities, environmental groups, pueblos and tribes, and others to develop, fund, and initiate plans to save endangered species, develop water operations models, and design and build projects, such as waste water reuse plants and subsurface drains.