The Bureau of Reclamation has authority for river channel maintenance on the Rio Grande between Velarde, New Mexico, and the headwaters of Caballo Reservoir.  Reclamation monitors changes in the river channel.  The evaluations include channel and levee capacity in an effort to keep track of river maintenance priority sites where the river may cause damage to riverside facilities.

There is one location called River Mile (RM) 111 Priority Site (Project) located on the west side of the Rio Grande approximately 5.2 miles downstream of the San Acacia Diversion Dam.  The Project is located at an actively migrating bend in the river.  The concern at this site is the proximity of the river channel to the Low Flow conveyance Channels (LFCC), and the rate at which this distance has been decreasing with sustained flood flows.

At the Project, Reclamation proposes to relocate the LFCC and the levee to the west to allow the river more freedom to move within its historic floodplain.  A similar action was done at the RM 114 and 113 priority sites, and is often referred to as the RM 114 to 113 levee setback.

For more information contact: Robert Maxwell, Albuquerque Area Office, 555 Broadway NE, Suite 100, Albuquerque, NM 87102, (505) 462-3597, rmaxwell@uc.usbr.gov