The 2026 irrigation forecast for the Sandoval County area is “abysmal,” Jason Casuga told village councilors in Corrales on Feb. 24.
(Jesse Jones)
The 2026 irrigation forecast for the Sandoval County area is “abysmal,” Jason Casuga told village councilors in Corrales on Feb. 24.
Casuga, CEO and chief engineer for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MGRCD), said the dearth of available water could be historic.
“If last year was one of the worst hydrologic spring runoffs on record, we’re gonna run right up against that,” he said. “We may be breaking records again this year.”
The poor forecast comes as MRGCD basins sit at 50% or less of their average capacity.
The village, Casuga said, faces a greater disadvantage than other communities served by the district, as those areas have means of receiving water by gravity, and the Corrales siphon has been out of use since the 2021 irrigation season.
If the river flow drops below a certain level, the pumps that serve the village cannot draw water.
??Councilor Zachary Burkett asked about whether the district can make temporary adjustments that provide water to Corrales on a preferential basis to make up for the current disadvantage.
Casuga said he authorized the use of San Juan–Chama water last year, in a move that primarily benefited the village. He said standard practice calls for shortages to be shared across the district, and that the best Corrales can hope for is returning to parity.
“I think we’re trying to find as much equity as possible,” Casuga said. “But if we go into future years, we continue that conversation of who’s going to give up something to give you more. And just from an equity standpoint, I don’t know how the district goes into those communities and says, ‘hey, you should give up more on an issue that wasn’t your fault so that they can be made whole.’”
Casuga said the MRGCD will have enough water to get the irrigation season going, but the length of that season will depend greatly on summer rains.
“I expect spring runoff to be a blip in many instances,” he said. “What will really make or break whether the pumps ultimately can stay on or not will be the degree and the consistency of monsoon events.”
Casuga told councilors work on the siphon replacement project hit a snag when an auger and conductor casing became stuck in the west-side pit during the horizontal directional boring process. Contractors, he said, are abandoning the stuck equipment and choosing a new “angle of attack as construction continues.
He said that despite the setback, the project will be completed by Dec. 31 — a deadline at which the state grant for the work expires
“The project’s either complete and successful, or we ran into a very unexpected issue,” Casuga said. “There is no extension that we can have on the project.”
Also at the meeting, John Irizarry Nazario of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation outlined the Mile 199 project, which involves rerouting the river to protect vulnerable banks and raise the riverbed two to three feet.
He said meandering by the river poses a threat to the local levee system, whose failure could mean flooding and property damage.
“We don’t have a lot of high flows in New Mexico,” Nazario said. “But when we do get the high flows here, we need to make sure that everybody is fortified enough to handle those flows.”
Nazario said the project will be done in three phases. Beginning March 3, the river will be diverted into side channels on Sandia Pueblo land.
Nazario said kayakers and other users won’t be able to disembark at that location because it’s private land. They will need to navigate through the side channel.
In response to a question from Burkett, Nazario said an exception will be made for emergencies.
A second diversion, he said, will push the river into the Corrales Bosque. Nazario said the Bureau is hoping that happens in May or June.
The third phase is planned for after the irrigation season, and consists of diversion at the Corrales siphon. Nazario said the Bureau will be working with the MRGCD regarding regulating the flow of the river.
In response to a question from Councilor Stuart Murray, he said the Bureau will be removing vegetation that is encroaching on the river and plans to work with the village on future plantings.
‘Abysmal’ water forecast shadows Corrales river projects
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The 2026 irrigation forecast for the Sandoval County area is “abysmal,” Jason Casuga told village councilors in Corrales on Feb. 24.
Casuga, CEO and chief engineer for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MGRCD), said the dearth of available water could be historic.
“If last year was one of the worst hydrologic spring runoffs on record, we’re gonna run right up against that,” he said. “We may be breaking records again this year.”
The poor forecast comes as MRGCD basins sit at 50% or less of their average capacity.
The village, Casuga said, faces a greater disadvantage than other communities served by the district, as those areas have means of receiving water by gravity, and the Corrales siphon has been out of use since the 2021 irrigation season.
If the river flow drops below a certain level, the pumps that serve the village cannot draw water.
??Councilor Zachary Burkett asked about whether the district can make temporary adjustments that provide water to Corrales on a preferential basis to make up for the current disadvantage.
Casuga said he authorized the use of San Juan–Chama water last year, in a move that primarily benefited the village. He said standard practice calls for shortages to be shared across the district, and that the best Corrales can hope for is returning to parity.
“I think we’re trying to find as much equity as possible,” Casuga said. “But if we go into future years, we continue that conversation of who’s going to give up something to give you more. And just from an equity standpoint, I don’t know how the district goes into those communities and says, ‘hey, you should give up more on an issue that wasn’t your fault so that they can be made whole.’”
Casuga said the MRGCD will have enough water to get the irrigation season going, but the length of that season will depend greatly on summer rains.
“I expect spring runoff to be a blip in many instances,” he said. “What will really make or break whether the pumps ultimately can stay on or not will be the degree and the consistency of monsoon events.”
Casuga told councilors work on the siphon replacement project hit a snag when an auger and conductor casing became stuck in the west-side pit during the horizontal directional boring process. Contractors, he said, are abandoning the stuck equipment and choosing a new “angle of attack as construction continues.
He said that despite the setback, the project will be completed by Dec. 31 — a deadline at which the state grant for the work expires
“The project’s either complete and successful, or we ran into a very unexpected issue,” Casuga said. “There is no extension that we can have on the project.”
Also at the meeting, John Irizarry Nazario of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation outlined the Mile 199 project, which involves rerouting the river to protect vulnerable banks and raise the riverbed two to three feet.
He said meandering by the river poses a threat to the local levee system, whose failure could mean flooding and property damage.
“We don’t have a lot of high flows in New Mexico,” Nazario said. “But when we do get the high flows here, we need to make sure that everybody is fortified enough to handle those flows.”
Nazario said the project will be done in three phases. Beginning March 3, the river will be diverted into side channels on Sandia Pueblo land.
Nazario said kayakers and other users won’t be able to disembark at that location because it’s private land. They will need to navigate through the side channel.
In response to a question from Burkett, Nazario said an exception will be made for emergencies.
A second diversion, he said, will push the river into the Corrales Bosque. Nazario said the Bureau is hoping that happens in May or June.
The third phase is planned for after the irrigation season, and consists of diversion at the Corrales siphon. Nazario said the Bureau will be working with the MRGCD regarding regulating the flow of the river.
In response to a question from Councilor Stuart Murray, he said the Bureau will be removing vegetation that is encroaching on the river and plans to work with the village on future plantings.
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