Pecos River Watershed Protection
The Pecos River, which winds more than 800 miles through semi-arid and arid landscapes of eastern New Mexico and West Texas, is crucial to many communities, mainly for irrigation, recreational and environmental use and recharging underlying aquifers. The river is the largest U.S. tributary flowing into the Rio Grande, accounting for 11 percent of stream inflow into the Amistad Reservoir.
The Pecos was once a grand river, providing early settlers with abundant water to irrigate crops and furnishing their families with drinking water. Today, however, the river’s flow has dwindled—to a trickle in some areas—and its salinity is so high that the water is sometimes harmful for irrigation, livestock and drinking. The reduced quality and quantity has also harmed the river basin’s biodiversity.
The river—historically, biologically, hydrologically and economically—is important to the future of the entire Pecos River Basin and the Rio Grande. If the integrity of the Pecos is to be improved and maintained, it is crucial that its water quality and quantity be increased.
The Basin Wide Management Plan for the Pecos River in Texas Watershed project is a Clean Water Act 319(h) grant. The project is assessing the physical features of the Pecos River Basin. Aerial photographs, delineations and characterizations of riparian zones and the river system are incorporated into multi-layered, interactive maps. These maps cover the entire basin and link with a database allowing users to access information about specific points, such as water quality testing sites. The project is also helping in communications with stakeholders and landowners in eight neighboring counties about water quality and quantity issues of the basin and monitoring the water quality of the river. Through this project, a Watershed Protection Plan is being developed to assess current management measures as well as determine future management measures to implement within the basin to protect the water quality of the river.
The project team developed a historical paper, “The Influence of Human Activities on the Waters of the Pecos Basin of Texas: A Brief Overview,” as well as a historical fact sheet, “Historic Water Issues Facing the Pecos Basin of Texas.” These publications give stakeholders an overview of the river, its history and issues.
Objectives
- Establish a baseline for the watershed for water quality and quantity monitoring
- Educate rural and urban stakeholders on issues relating to water quality and quantity in the Pecos River Basin
- Develop a Watershed Protection Plan for segments 2312, 2311 and 2310
Components
- Basin Assessment: Develop a baseline assessment on the Pecos River Basin with regards to stream channel morphology, riparian vegetation, land use, salinity mapping, water inflows and outflows and aquatic habitats
- Educational Programming: Assemble publications and conduct a series of educational meetings targeted at stakeholders and policy makers
- Monitoring Programs: Estimate the effects of saltcedar control on water quantity and quality
Accomplishments
- All individual project sub tasks have been completed and their individual reports are available on the project Web site (pecosbasin.tamu.edu).
- The Watershed Protection Plan has been developed and submitted to Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board for its comment and review.
Collaborators
- Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M AgriLife
- Texas AgriLife Research
- Texas AgriLife Extension Service
- International Boundary and Water Commission
Funding Agencies
- Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
