Water Matters!
The Utton Transboundary Resources Center’s Water Matters! podcast looks at water and natural resources issues in New Mexico and beyond. Housed at the University of New Mexico School of Law, the Utton Transboundary Resources Center is a state-funded research and public service project that believes in the pursuit of well informed, collaborative solutions to our natural resource challenges. The Utton Transboundary Resources Center’s Sairis Perez-Gomez designed the podcast logo and wrote and performed our theme music and Student Research Assistant Francesca Glaspell produced this episode.
Rin Tara is a staff attorney specializing in water policy and governance at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center. They are primarily interested in questions of water management in the face of climate change. They have done work in riparian restoration, river connectivity, tribal water sovereignty, climate change adaptation, and water rights. They have authored several papers on topics related to the future of western water management.
John Fleck is Writer in Residence at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center, University of New Mexico School of Law; and Professor of Practice in Water Policy and Governance in the University of New Mexico Department of Economics. The former director of the University of New Mexico’s Water Resources Program, he is the author of four books on water in the west, including the forthcoming history of Albuquerque’s relationship with the Rio Grande – Ribbons of Green: The Rio Grande and the Making of a Modern American City.
Water Matters!
Water Update (12/10/25)
This week, Rin and John talk about flows on the Rio Grande, planning for a new federal river management project south of Socorro, groundwater contamination questions, and the future of federal clean water regulation.
Rio Grande
With the irrigation season over and the Rio Grande’s riparian vegetation shutting down for the winter, river flows are up through Albuquerque. But the biggest reason for the high flows is the annual Rio Grande Compact accounting exercise, as water stored in Abiquiu reservoir for the six Middle Rio Grande Pueblos, but not needed, is moved down to Elephant Butte Reservoir.
To track the flows, the USGS measurement gage at Central Avenue is Rin and John’s go-to information source: Rio Grande at Albuquerque, NM - USGS-08330000
And to get the best report on current river conditions, we recommend Anne Marken’s monthly presentations to the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Board of Directors. The audio recordings, including Anne’s slides, are here, and once the meeting minutes are posted, you’ll get a great written summary.
Lower San Acacia Reach
Reclamations draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Lower San Acacia Reach Improvements project is here. There will be two public meetings on the draft:
- January 7, 2026 from 5 to 7 p.m. MT at the Erna Fergusson Public Library, 3700 San Mateo Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87110.
- January 8, 2026 from 5 to 7 p.m. MT at the Socorro Public Library, 401 Park St, Socorro, NM, 87801.
Groundwater
- SourceNM reporting on Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon water contamination
- Geologist Kate Zeigler’s report on water contamination
- Water Protection Advisory Board reports on Kirtland fuel spill
Waters of the United States (WOTUS!)
