December 19, 2024
By IBWC
Washington, DC − (Highpoint Digest) − The U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) has signed a
Memorandum of Agreement with the Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) to expand a long
collaboration by including sediment management.
Under the agreement, which entered into force on November 5, 2024, USIBWC will provide
technical assistance while EBID will oversee awarding and managing contracts.
The move is intended to address large quantities of sediment entering USIBWC’s 105-mile Rio
Grande Canalization Project (RGCP) in southwestern New Mexico, where EBID also operates.
Part of the USIBWC’s mission includes ensuring the RGCP is maintained so the United States can
deliver Rio Grande water to Mexico in compliance with the 1906 Convention between the two
countries.
USIBWC manages sediment within the RGCP, which extends along the Rio Grande from American
Dam in El Paso, Texas, to Percha Dam, near Arrey, New Mexico. USIBWC also maintains five
sediment control dams in southern New Mexico and has built sediment basins as a pilot project in
Hatch, New Mexico, to address sediment issues.
For more than a hundred years, EBID has operated and maintained irrigation and drainage structures
to deliver water to farmers within the area covered by the RGCP.
USIBWC and EBID have successfully worked together on previous agreements, including habitat
restoration, irrigation infrastructure, maintenance of floodgates, and rehabilitation of the Montoya
Intercepting Drain.
Sediment entering the RGCP through Rincon and Placitas arroyos, among others, has created
problem areas in urgent need of maintenance.
“This no-cost agreement between our agencies pledges our cooperation in sediment management
projects that will improve flood control and benefit irrigation and habitat restoration,” said Dr.
Maria-Elena Giner, P.E., USIBWC Commissioner. “We plan to share technical data such as
sediment models and assist in identifying future projects. This is a great example of how two great
agencies can share the burden and leverage each other’s programs to benefit the community.”
“This Memorandum of Agreement with the IBWC is an exciting first step in the process of tackling
the sediment issues in the Lower Rio Grande,” said Joshua Smith, EBID Treasurer-Manager.
“Elephant Butte Irrigation District looks forward to working with the IBWC to identify projects and
begin work on the ground to address the sediment problem, improve efficiency in our system, and
restore habitat in the valley.”
USIBWC has previously committed to restoring more than 500 acres of riparian and aquatic habitat
within the project, and potential projects under this agreement could complement existing habitat
restoration efforts.
Image credit: Elephant Butte Irrigation District
