ABIQUIÚ, N.M. (AP) - A newly passed U.S. House bill may allow Abiquiú Lake to store a greater volume of water from a wider range of sources.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports a provision in a water resources development bill would increase the northern New Mexico reservoir’s storage capacity by 30,000 acre-feet. That would raise the lake’s permissible water level by roughly 10 feet (3 meters).
The reservoir now is permitted to store only what’s known as San Juan-Chama water, which originates in the Colorado River. That water is diverted through tunnels across the Continental Divide and then carried along the Chama River through the Heron and El Vado dam systems on its way to Abiquiú.
This reservoir is not allowed to hold “native water” that originates in the Rio Grande Basin as rain and melting snow that drains into the Chama River.
The U.S. Senate has its own water resources bill. Representatives from both chambers must sit down and hammer out a version.
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