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

  • Notice of Availability – June 18, 2025

    Draft Environmental Assessment for The Corrales River Mile 199 Project, New Mexico

    The Bureau of Reclamation has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act to assess the potential environmental impacts associated with a proposed Rio Grande channel rehabilitation project. The proposed Corrales River Mile 199 project would protect riverside infrastructure from erosion along the Rio Grande north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Reclamation is authorized under the Flood Control Acts of 1948 and 1950 to maintain the river channel in the Middle Rio Grande to pass the 2-year return peak flow. In accordance with this authorization, Reclamation has developed a DEA describing the potential environmental impacts of the Proposed Action to protect the riverside levee system at three points where river meandering is currently threatening the integrity of the levee. The Proposed Action has secondary goals of rehabilitating the river planform (i.e., the shape of the river and how it flows) and enhancing aquatic and riparian habitat.

    An electronic copy of the DEA is available at: https://www.usbr.gov/uc/DocLibrary/ea.html.

    Reclamation is soliciting comments from interested local, state, and federal elected officials and agencies, as well as interested members of the public. Please submit your written comments concerning the DEA to:
    Project Manager
    Dr. Jancoba Dorley
    555 Broadway NE, Suite 100
    Albuquerque, NM, 87102
    or to jdorley@usbr.gov by July 7, 2025. If you have any questions or would like more information on this project, please contact Dr. Dorley at (505) 859-1746.

  • News Release – April 21, 2025

    River drying in the San Acacia Reach of the Middle Rio Grande.Reclamation prepares for poor water runoff in New Mexico as drought continues

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Strategic coordination on water operations will again be key along the Rio Grande this summer as water managers prepare for an exceptionally dry year amidst continuing drought conditions. This year's spring runoff may be near or below the lowest on record. Read More 

Environmental Planning Current Focus

Reservoir Information

Caballo: HydroData
Elephant Butte: HydroData

Related Links

Last Updated: 6/18/25