Southwest

Rio Grande

IN HIGH DEMAND

Will Rogers once described the Rio Grande as “the only river I know of that is in need of irrigating,” a prescient observation considering how fragmented this fabled river has become. At nearly 1,900 miles, the Rio Grande is runner-up only to the combined Missouri-Mississippi system in length within the continental U.S. Or it would be, if it still flowed the length of its channel.

Rio Grande, Rio Bravo, El Rio Bravo del Norte, The Rio. Whatever you call it, however you know it, the Rio Grande, at nearly 2,000 miles long, is the 3rd longest river in the continental US, and a source of life for the more than 6 million people and countless wildlife species and ecosystems that rely on it. It is one of the most important rivers in the Southwest, supporting communities, agriculture and ecosystems in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and the Republic of Mexico. From its headwaters to its terminus in the Gulf of Mexico, communities rely on the Rio and its tributaries for drinking water, agriculture, abundant  recreation, habitat for birds and is quite literally the backbone of local economies. 

This immensely critical but often overlooked river originates in the alpine ranges of the San Juan Mountains in southern Colorado. It flows east and south through the agriculturally rich San Luis Valley into New Mexico, eventually entering Texas at El Paso then forming the border with Mexico as it flows east through Big Bend National Park and on to its terminus with the Gulf of Mexico just east of Brownsville.

Like many of the Southwest’s rivers, the Rio Grande is critical to the livelihood of communities along its banks, but is under increasing pressure. Climate impacts, coupled with the fact that the Rio Grande is significantly overallocated and over-appropriated, has resulted  in it sometimes running  dry before reaching the Colorado – New Mexico border in water-scarce years. And now, a new transbasin export proposal in Colorado’s San Luis Valley threatens to make the situation even worse. 

stretches, a pair of National Monuments, and two National Parks – Great Sand Dunes in Colorado and Big Bend in Texas.

It’s a solid 600 miles between rapids before the river reaches its lower Wild & Scenic designation surrounding Big Bend National Park along the Texas border with Mexico. Despite being diverted and depleted for hundreds of miles before reaching El Paso, the river gets replenished by Mexico’s Rio Conchos just upstream from Big Bend’s eastern boundary – enough to feed a 191-mile segment of Wild & Scenic River, established in 1978.

Towering limestone walls stretching up to 1,500 feet in the park’s Santa Elena and Mariscal canyons provide much of the scenery amidst a remote, rugged wilderness that extends far beyond Big Bend’s 118-mile river boundary.

Did You know?

The Rio Grande (“Big River”) was named “El Rio Bravo del Norte,” or “The Fierce River of the North,” by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. It is still known as “Rio Bravo” in Mexico.

Despite its name, the Rio Grande averages only about one-fifth as much water as its neighbor, the Colorado River.

Colorado’s San Luis Valley along the upper Rio Grande is a spring layover for more than 20,000 migrating sandhill cranes and hosts an annual “Crane Fest” at surrounding wildlife refuges.

WHAT STATES DOES THE RIVER CROSS?

New Mexico, Texas

The Backstory

For over a million years, the Rio’s flow was dictated solely by the rhythms of snow and rain, winter and summer. Sometimes, it surged—flooding its banks and ushering sediment downstream. In other years, it whispered its winding way across the landscape. Now, human demands and diversions dictate the course and flow of the river. And, increasingly, a warming climate will establish a rhythm determined by sparse snow and limited runoff.

For people and wildlife that depend on the Rio Grande, this shift in snow and water availability is a cause for serious concern. Less snow means less water for trees, making them more vulnerable to wildfire. It means less water in the river, which means less water in fields and wetlands that dry up and stretches of river where fish can no longer swim.   

But climate change isn’t the only threat facing the Rio, its tributaries, and the connected underground sources of water. Since the late 20th Century, developers in Colorado have proposed various plans to pump water out of the aquifers that sit below the Rio Grande for expanding communities on the Colorado Front Range. The latest threat manifests as a developer buying up land and water rights in the northeastern portion of the San Luis Valley, with plans to pump groundwater nearly 200 miles over Poncha Pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to communities north of Colorado Springs.

Existing diversions for municipal and agricultural use already claim a significant portion of the Rio Grande’s average annual flow, and Elephant Butte, the major reservoir south of Albuquerque, only reliably provides irrigation water during a  short irrigation season. Increasingly frequent droughts in the face of climate change and growing populations around Albuquerque and El Paso could exacerbate the problem.

The San Luis Valley

In Colorado’s San Luis Valley, the Rio Grande River supports both people and wildlife. The Valley is home to the Rio Grande National Forest, three National Wildlife Refuges and thousands of acres of private lands supporting well-known and lesser-loved wildlife, including the Rio Grande cutthroat trout and the Sandhill Crane. Over 250 unique species of bird are found in the Great Sand Dunes National Park alone. The iconic Sandhill Crane relies on the Valley’s wetlands, stopping here in the spring and fall to rest and gain strength for their journey between New Mexico and the northern United States and Canada. 

After winding its way through some of the most productive trout waters in southern Colorado, the Rio Grande tumbles into a cavity of sheer-walled canyons carved from the volcanic rock near northern New Mexico’s Taos Pueblo. The box canyons of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, designated in 2013, offer dramatic wilderness and important bird sanctuary surrounding some of the finest whitewater in the West for skilled paddlers, highlighting an outdoor recreational mecca that extends downstream along 74 miles of designated Wild & Scenic river.

It’s a solid 600 miles between rapids before the river reaches its lower Wild & Scenic designation surrounding Big Bend National Park along the Texas border with Mexico. Despite being diverted and depleted for hundreds of miles before reaching El Paso, the river gets replenished by Mexico’s Rio Conchos just upstream from Big Bend’s eastern boundary – enough to feed a 191-mile segment of Wild & Scenic River, established in 1978.

Towering limestone walls stretching up to 1,500 feet in the park’s Santa Elena and Mariscal canyons provide much of the scenery amidst a remote, rugged wilderness that extends far beyond Big Bend’s 118-mile river boundary.

Check out the below resources on the San Luis Valley to gain a better understanding of why protecting and preserving the health of the Rio Grande, the viability of aquifers, and the deep history of the San Luis Valley is as critical for communities that rely directly on the river as it is for the state of Colorado and the Southwest.

Through Line

Through Line

Our film 'Through Line' celebrates both the history and future of water management in the San Luis Valley through the voices of modern managers—specifically a growing number of women managers in a historically male-dominated profession—who are working together to ensure that the needs of communities are met alongside the needs of the river itself, and underscoring that while the challenges may be many, “the future health of the Rio Grande is in good hands.”

Sandhill Cranes, Dunes, Mt. Herard, Rio Grande River, CO Photo Credit: National Park Service

Groundswell on the Rio Grande

To help tell the story of the San Luis Valley, the interdependent nature of the people, the river, and water flowing below their feet and the threats facing the Valley’s way of life, American Rivers developed Groundswell on the Rio Grande, an interactive ESRI Story Map that illustrates the connection between people, communities and water. Click belowbelow to discover more about the people, economy, and way of life in the San Luis Valley.

The Future

The Rio Grande undoubtedly faces challenges from its headwaters in Colorado to its terminus in the Gulf of Mexico. However, work is being done across its full length  to sustain this essential river. 

In Colorado, the Rio Grande ties together generations of people and communities across the San Luis Valley. Brought together by shared ethics of caring for land and water, everyone in the San Luis Valley depends deeply on the Rio Grande – for their livelihoods, the rich diversity of wildlife and activities they enjoy, and their connection to the rich history of people who have come before them. 

Communities in the San Luis Valley are learning to do more with less, and every drop of water works just a little bit harder. A number of planning initiatives within the Valley have identified multi-benefit projects and solutions to help address the challenges they face. This includes water sharing agreements, restoring riparian areas and instream restoration, implementing nature-based solutions, and upgrading agricultural infrastructure. These strategies will all help restore the river and bolster water flowing underneath the Valley. Learn more about the interdependent nature of the people, wildlife, and the river in our film Through Line. Watch Through Line here.  

In New Mexico, water partners and stakeholders are beginning to work with the Bureau of Reclamation on the Rio Grande New Mexico Basin Study. This is a collaborative study that looks to evaluate and develop strategies to help the river and populations who depend upon it adapt to a  future with much less water while supporting the basin’s unique human culture and ecosystems. This study will increase preparedness for future changes in water supply and demand and provide a technical basis for water planning and policy decisions throughout the Basin. The Basin Study is anticipated to launch in early 2022. 

Communities throughout the Rio Grande Basin understand the challenges facing their sources of water. A balanced approach to water management and investments in activities to improve the resilience of the river and the communities that depend on it is needed if the once mighty Rio Grande hopes to recover.