- Reclamation
- Upper Colorado Basin
- Albuquerque Area Office
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
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Public Comment Period – Oct. 4, 2024
Project Advanced Water Purification Facility – El Paso, Texas
El Paso Water has prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment to assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the development of a proposed Advanced Water Purification Facility that would be partially funded by Reclamation's Title XVI WIIN Act Water Reclamation and Reuse Program. The study area consists of approximately 13 acres at the EPWater Treatment Campus that houses the Jonathan W. Rogers Water Treatment Plant and Roberto R. Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in El Paso, Texas. The Title XVI Program includes funding for the planning, design, and construction of water recycling and reuse projects in partnership with local government entities. The AWPF will increase drought resiliency, reduce groundwater usage, and delay water importation. The AWPF will clean treated wastewater from the Bustamante WWTP, producing 7.6 mgd of purified water that will be blended with 2 mgd groundwater before distribution. AWPF source water will be treated through membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light disinfection with advanced oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, granular activated carbon filtration for peroxide quenching, stabilization, and chemical disinfection with chlorine. By implementing the AWPF, EPWater will reduce groundwater usage in both non-drought and drought years and continue to meet summer water demand in drought years. The facility will be the first large-scale direct-to-distribution potable reuse facility in the United States.
The Draft EA includes a feasibility analysis of potential impacts associated with the development of the AWPF. Reclamation complies with all Federal environmental laws and regulations, including NEPA, National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and other federally mandated regulations.
EPWater will consider substantive comments from the public and stakeholders for 30 days after the date of publication of this NOA. Please note all written and email comments received during the comment period will become part of the public record, including any personal information you provide.
A hardcopy is also available for review at EPWater's TecH2O Learning Center, 10751 Montana Ave., El Paso, TX 79935.
Comments should be sent to Carlos V. Dominguez, Jr., Utility Engineer, 1154 Hawkins Boulevard, El Paso TX 79925 (cdominguez@epwater.org). If you would like to submit comments or questions by telephone, you may contact the EPWater Communications office at 915-594-5510.
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News Release – September 23, 2024
Contract awarded for infrastructure improvements at Elephant Butte Historic DistrictALBUQUERQUE, NM. – The Bureau of Reclamation recently announced an $11.3 million contract award to ORCOM, a Division of Ortega Companies, Inc., for the first phase of an infrastructure improvement project at the Elephant Butte Historic District in New Mexico. Funding for this project is provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Read More
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Public Comment Period – Sept. 17, 2024
Sumner Dam Radial Gates Project
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) to analyze potential impacts associated with replacing the Sumner Dam Radial Gates. Sumner Dam is located on the Pecos River approximately 16 miles northwest of Fort Sumner in De Baca County, New Mexico. This notice announces the availability of the EA for public review and comment. The EA was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 40 CFR Parts 1500–1508.
A public meeting will be held Monday, September 30, from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. The meeting will consist of a PowerPoint presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. This will be an opportunity for the public to learn more about the project, speak with the Reclamation staff, and provide input on this project.
Public Meeting:
- Monday, Sept. 30, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Fort Sumner Community House
137 East Baker Hill, Fort Sumner, NM 88119
If you are unable to attend in person you may attend virtually on the Microsoft Teams platform. Please send an email to SumnerDamRadialGatesProject@ddc-dine.com to request the meeting link.
Information on the Project:
Two alternatives were analyzed in this document, No Action and Proposed Action.
Alternative A: No Action Alternative
The Sumner Dam radial gates and hoist deck would not be replaced. In addition, there would be no changes to the sill elevation to match the upstream weir elevation and a new concrete overlay over the existing spillway would not occur. The dam would remain a high safety risk with the probability of failure remaining moderately high and exceeding the threshold of Reclamations public protection guidelines.
Alternative B: Proposed Action Alternative
The Proposed Action would mitigate safety risks at Sumner Dam by replacing the three radial gates, replacing the hoist deck, and overlaying the existing concrete spillway. State Highway 203 currently crosses the dam on a one-lane bridge above the radial gates. This bridge over the radial gates would be closed for the duration of the project. An intermediate bridge for the public and local residents would be installed downstream of Sumner Dam before the bridge over the radial gates is closed and will remain in service until the permanent bypass bridge is built and in service.
This EA will be open for public review for 30 days, from September 18 through October 18, 2024.
Reclamation's Albuquerque Area Office welcomes your comments on the draft EA. Written comments can be sent to the addresses listed below or via email at SumnerDamRadialGatesProject@ddc-dine.com. Hard copies may be obtained by contacting Mr. David "Sonny" Cooper, US Bureau of Reclamation, Albuquerque Area Office, 555 Broadway Blvd., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102 or via email at dcooper@usbr.gov. All comments must be received by October 18, 2024, when the public comment period ends.
- Monday, Sept. 30, from 4 to 6 p.m.
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News Release – May 14, 2024
Construction on hold at El Vado DamALBUQUERQUE, NM. – During the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District regular board meeting this week, the Bureau of Reclamation announced that construction to upgrade El Vado Dam is halted and that temporary alternative storage options are being developed. Read More
