Burck, Peter, authorWahlin, Brian, authorU.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher2020-06-012020-06-012006-10https://hdl.handle.net/10217/207262Presented at Ground water and surface water under stress: competition, interaction, solutions: a USCID water management conference on October 25-28, 2006 in Boise, Idaho.The Pecos River originates east of Santa Fe, New Mexico and flows across the eastern portion of the state and southwestern portion of Texas before it empties into the Rio Grande. Most of New Mexico's fresh water is stored in aquifers below the ground. There are three major aquifers within the Pecos River Basin: the Fort Sumner groundwater basin, the Roswell groundwater basin, and the Carlsbad groundwater basin. All three of these basins have a shallow alluvial aquifer that is highly connected to the Pecos River. In addition, the Roswell and Carlsbad basins have deep artesian carbonate aquifers. Surface water in the Pecos River Basin comes from three main sources: snow melt in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, flood inflow from storm events, and groundwater base inflow. The management of water resources in the Pecos River Basin is strongly driven by agriculture. There are several small-scale acequias in the northern part of the basin and three large irrigation districts in the central and southern portion of the basin: the Fort Sumner Irrigation District (FSID), the Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District (PVACD), and the Carlsbad Irrigation District (CID). All of these entities rely heavily on surface water and/or groundwater supplies from the Pecos River Basin. Four major reservoirs have been constructed along the main stem of the Pecos River to provide flood control for the area and to supply irrigation water for CID. In addition to the various agricultural demands, the Pecos River Basin is subject to demands from two other sources. First, there is an environmental demand to provide enough water in the Pecos River for the Pecos bluntnose shiner, which is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Second, New Mexico must deliver a certain amount of water to Texas according to the Pecos River Compact and Amended Decree.born digitalCD-ROMsproceedings (reports)engCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.Text