Bringing the Colorado River to Albuquerque

San-Juan Chama water is imported Colorado River water owned by the Water Authority. It is not “native” Rio Grande water. The City of Albuquerque (now the Water Authority) purchased rights to San Juan-Chama water in the early 1960s. It has invested some $50 million since that time for repayment of the construction costs and annual operation and maintenance to bring the water from the Colorado River basin into the Rio Grande as part of the state’s Upper Colorado River Compact apportionment. 

This investment is the foundation of the metropolitan area’s water future, and the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project (built at an additional cost of some $400 million) provides a means to utilize the water now and for decades to come.

The water, which travels from the Colorado River basin into New Mexico via a series of tunnels and pipelines, is sent down the Rio Chama to Heron Reservoir.  From there, it travels through the El Vado, Abiquiu and Cochiti reservoirs.  Once the water has arrived in Albuquerque, it is diverted from the river at an adjustable-height dam near the Alameda Bridge. The dam and intake structure include a passage to allow free movement of fish up- and downstream when the dam is raised.   

After being diverted at the dam, San Juan-Chama water is pumped uphill to a surface-water treatment plant located near the Renaissance Center in northeast Albuquerque. Once it arrives at the treatment plant, the water is treated to meet or exceed state and federal water quality standards for drinking water.

When the purification process is complete, San Juan-Chama water flows into finished water storage tanks from which it is pumped to existing reservoirs throughout the metropolitan area. At these locations, it is blended with aquifer water (in amounts depending on the time of year and surface water availability) and delivered to Water Authority customers.

During the first year of project operation, the amount of drinking water being delivered by the project was approximately 21 percent of the total. In the second year, it was more than 40 percent.

The state requires the Water Authority to submit a report on the amount of San Juan-Chama water released from Abiquiu and the amount diverted on a daily basis. We are also required to post that information on our web site which shows daily diversions and return flows.

San Juan-Chama water flows through the Rio Chama on its way south to Albuquerque