The School of Law Utton Center Sponsors the 2nd Annual Socorro Community Listening Session on Water
March 31, 2025
Seventy-five community members gathered on March 1, 2025, at the Socorro Fairgrounds for a matanza and an afternoon discussion regarding the water management challenges facing the San Acacia Reach of New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande.
Sponsored by the Utton Center at the UNM School of Law, the event was the second annual gathering to bring community members together to learn and share their thoughts about the valley’s water challenges.
“With less water flowing down the Rio Grande each year, it’s important for communities to come together to learn and share their thoughts about what they value most and how we can all collaborate in the face of climate change,” said the Utton Center’s John Fleck, who moderated the afternoon’s discussions.
Running from the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District’s (MRGCD) San Acacia Diversion Dam to Elephant Butte Reservoir, this stretch of the Rio Grande is home to the community of Socorro and farming operations up and down the valley, from the alfalfa fields of Indian Hill Farms to the chile fields around San Antonio. It also is home to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
The audience heard from MRGCD Water Operations Manager Anne Marken about the challenges the district faces in providing irrigation water with a growing water debt under the Rio Grande Compact to farms and communities in southern New Mexico and Texas. The audience also heard from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Ken Richard about the bureau’s Lower San Acacia Reach Improvement Project. The project will reroute the river in an attempt to move water more efficiently through the stretch of river downstream of Bosque del Apache. Over time, this stretch of the Rio Grande has become choked with sediments, making it difficult for central New Mexico to meet its obligation under the Rio Grande Compact to deliver water to Elephant Butte Reservoir.
Laila Sturgis from the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and New Mexico Tech shared that they are studying the hydrology of the Rio Grande between San Acacia and Fort Craig, focusing on surface water and ground water interactions. They are seeking local well owners to participate in the study by allowing depth-to-water measurements. If interested, please contact Aquifer Mapping Program Manager Laila Sturgis at 575-835-5327.
The event was co-sponsored by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, New Mexico Tech, the City of Socorro, Friends of the Bosque del Apache, Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District, and Amigos de la Sevilleta.
