Project Title: Water Budget Analysis and Candidate Conservation Agreement Planning for the Black River Basin in Southeastern New Mexico

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1 Bren School Group Project Proposal Project Title: Water Budget Analysis and Candidate Conservation Agreement Planning for the Black River Basin in Southeastern New Mexico Proposers: New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission Greg Lewis, Pecos River Basin Manager Emile Sawyer, Pecos Bureau Hydrologist Hannah Riseley- White, UCSB Bren Student, MESM 2014 Candidate hriseley Problem Statement: Southwestern water planners face mounting pressure on resources that are increasingly limited by competing land use priorities, legal constraints, drought, and the uncertainties of climate change 1. The Black River in southeastern New Mexico plays a key role in water delivery for regional agriculture, local industry (especially oil and gas drilling), flow deliveries to Texas through the Pecos River Compact established in 1948, while also supporting the highest diversity of native aquatic fauna among second order perennial streams statewide 2,3. In 2014, the federal candidate and state- listed endangered species, Texas Hornshell or Popenaias popeii, a freshwater mollusk, could be listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act. A careful and thorough analysis of this overcommitted resource is crucial to ensure sustainable future use. Practical solutions that are sensitive to these often competing interests are needed to protect state wildlife and water resources, while supporting the Pecos River Compact by delivering water to Texas 4. Project Objectives: Planning for a possible candidate conservation agreement will require research into the institutional and social challenges involved as well as a deeper understanding of local hydrology. Group Project (GP) members will recommend a sustainable water resources management plan for the Black River Basin by conducting research in the following areas: 1) Analysis of current water use in the Black River Basin A thorough up- to- date accounting of current water rights in the basin (e.g., all water users, their allocated rights, purpose of use including estimates of seasonal and annual diverted and consumptive use volumes) is a critical first step in conducting a hydrologic analysis of the basin. Although surface water on the Black River is considered fully appropriated, out- of- basin rights for groundwater pumping are currently being transferred into the basin, and permits for temporary new appropriations of public groundwater are being procured, especially for use in new commercial and temporary wells supporting oil and gas operations. 2) Assessment of the possible effects of groundwater pumping on flow volumes Perennial flow of the Black River is sustained from several large springs (Rattlesnake, Blue and Castle Springs) and numerous smaller unnamed springs whose discharges are derived from groundwater flowing through karst aquifers in the basin. Increases in groundwater withdrawals within the basin could affect spring discharge and therefore base flows 3. Rough estimates of the effects of groundwater pumping on stream flow will be created with assistance from New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) staff hydrologists.

2 3) Regional water market study Any proposed solutions for sustainable water allocation will depend in part on an assessment of the factors determining the local pricing of water rights. GP members will conduct a regional water market study to assess changes in pricing over the past years in light of the differences between surface and groundwater as well as in prescriptive use (e.g., agriculture, livestock, industry, conservation). Similar studies have been conducted on the Rio Grande 5. 4) Assessment of flow volumes necessary to maintain endangered species GP members will conduct an appraisal- level ecohydrology study to derive preliminary target flows necessary to maintain the Texas Hornshell, as well as several other state threatened species of both invertebrates and fish that are not yet listed under the federal Endangered Species Act 4. Some of these species formerly inhabited the lower Pecos River as well, but their range has been severely limited by recurrent blooms of toxic golden alga, Prymnesium parvum, in the Pecos River. Toxins produced by the alga are especially deadly to aquatic, gill- breathing fauna such as mollusks, crustaceans, fish and larval stages of amphibians 4. 5) Develop an outreach plan to garner input from stakeholders Because this water resource is so precious to a wide range of interests, GP members will work in concert with the ISC to develop a survey and assist in conducting one or more community meetings during the summer of This could form the genesis of a community relations plan for future use by the ISC and other governmental entities. Project Significance: The Black River and its watershed are home to the highest diversity of native aquatic fauna among second order perennial streams in New Mexico. Draining over 387 square miles in southeastern New Mexico, perennial waters of the Black River originate at the base of the Guadalupe Mountains and flow northeastwardly to their confluence with the Pecos River near the town of Malaga. As the largest tributary to the lower Pecos River, the Black River plays a major role in water delivery to Texas. Accordingly, the Black River figures prominently not only in wildlife conservation strategies, but also in water management efforts to meet future needs of rural communities, private industry (e.g., agriculture, livestock, oil and gas), agency land- based resources uses, and interstate water deliveries to Texas. All perennial waters encompassed in the watershed of the Black River, including Rattlesnake Spring and Blue Spring, have been considered by state and federal agencies for designation as Outstanding National Resource Waters (ONRW). As home to the greatest intact aquatic faunal assemblage remaining in the lower Pecos River drainage, the Black River hosts 44 species of Greatest Conservation Need as identified by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish 4. Background Information: A series of studies completed by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish in 2008 highlighted concerns about the sustainability of current management practices on the Black River 3,4. Stakeholders: Stakeholders include rural communities that have depended on the Black River for generations, private industry (e.g., agriculture, livestock, oil and gas), agency land- based resources uses, including the 1,200- acre Black River Recreation Area managed by the Bureau of Land Management 6. In a broader but no less

3 important sense, New Mexico and Texas state residents are stakeholders, because the implications of under- delivery of Pecos water to Texas are enormous. In addition, all of the many species that depend on the Black River s perennial flows and the entities that represent them are stakeholders. Significant interest in habitat preservation has been expressed by organizations including the National Parks Service, The Nature Conservancy, Bonneville Environmental Foundation and others. This project has the opportunity to foster and deepen organizational coordination among all interested parties. Possible approaches and available data: A work plan will be created in collaboration with the ISC beginning with extensive research into currently available information. Flow data is currently available from the USGS website 7. Water right information is available from District 2 Office of the State Engineer (OSE) Roswell, the OSE WATERS Office in Albuquerque, the OSE website 8, the Pecos Basin Library of the ISC, and the Hydrology Library of the OSE via SALSA Library online 9, and the OSE District 2 Library 10. Information on biota is available from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGR) and NMDGR staff have offered their assistance on this project. The OSE and ISC have staff specialists in hydrology, water planning and management, water rights and New Mexico water law and policy who will be available to advise GP members and share GIS, surface and groundwater modeling, well drilling, and all other necessary information. Additional organizations that may be of assistance include: NM Environment Department, NM Agriculture Department, NM Energy, Minerals and Resources Department, State Parks Division, Oil Conservation Division, NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service, and the US National Parks Service Deliverables: 1) Analysis of current water use in the Black River Basin 2) Regional water market study 3) Recommendations for the creation of candidate conservation agreements Client: The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission was established to investigate, protect, conserve and develop New Mexico s waters including both interstate and intrastate stream systems. The eight unsalaried members of the Commission are appointed by the Governor and represent all regions of the state; the ninth member is the State Engineer who serves as secretary. The ISC s authority under state law includes negotiating with other states to settle interstate stream controversies. New Mexico is a party to eight interstate stream basins. To ensure compliance, ISC staff analyze, review, and implement projects in New Mexico and analyze stream flow, reservoir, and other data on the stream systems. The ISC is also authorized by statute to investigate and develop the water supplies of the state and institute legal proceedings in the name of the state for planning, conservation, protection and development of public waters.

4 Anticipated financial needs and additional support: There are no financial needs necessary to conduct this project as described here. Internship Opportunities: The ISC is offering $2,500 for a paid summer internship in (See attached letter of support.) Black River Basin and its confluence with the Pecos River draining into Texas (Source: BLM) References: 1. Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission (1998) Water in the West: Challenge for the Next Century, June 1998, Denise D. Fort, Chair 2. Office of the State Engineer (2003) The Pecos River Master s Manual, July 28 th Compacts/Pecos/pecos_river_master_manual.pdf 3. Lang, B., Carman, S., Propst, D. (2008) Water Resource Conservation Strategies for the Black River Basin, Eddy County, New Mexico: Are Current Practices Sustainable? Conservation Services Division, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, November Lang, B., Carman, S., Propst, D. (2008) The Status of Aquatic Resources of the Black River, Eddy County, New Mexico Conservation Services Division, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, November Mouche, L., Landfair, S., Ward, F. (2011) Water Right Prices in the Rio Grande: Analysis and Policy Implications, Water Resources Development, Vol. 27, No. 2, , June 2011

5 6. Bureau of Land Management, 7.USGS water gauge information, n_nm= 8. New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, water right look- up, 9. New Mexico State Library, SALSA Consortium, a group of New Mexico state agency libraries, catalogs/salsa 10. Bjorklund, L.J. Motts, W. S. (1959) Geology and Water Resources of the Carlsbad Area, Eddy County, New Mexico, US Department of Interior Geological Survey Open File Report, December 1959

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