ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, hosted the Rio Grande Basin meeting on September 17-18 at its district office. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the impacts of the devastating wildfires during the past two years in the upper basin, and the resulting prior and present flooding.
Approximately 90 participants, many of them Rio Grande stakeholders, attended the meeting.
“We are holding this meeting in order to leverage state, local and federal funding and to help prioritize the projects that we can afford in order to bring the best regional solutions for our water issues,” said John D’Antonio, deputy district engineer for programs and projects, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Presenters included representatives from the, the Pueblo of Santa Clara, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, the Colorado Rio Grande Restoration Foundation, Tetra Tech, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Valles Caldera National Preserve, and the International Boundary and Water Commission.
This meeting, which is held two times per year, was started by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2011.
“These meetings assist all participants and Rio Grande stakeholders to continue to develop a shared vision,” said Deb Foley, chief of civil works, Albuquerque district.