The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Albuquerque District held a Dam Safety Tabletop Exercise (TTX) for Abiquiu Dam at the Abiquiu Rural Event Center in Abiquiu, N.M., May 7, 2026.
The purpose of the exercise was to improve mutual awareness among Abiquiu Dam stakeholders of the roles and duties, communication needs, and coordination efforts necessary in the event of a dam emergency.
“The Abiquiu TTX hopes to increase mutual awareness of responsibilities and tasks, communication needs, and coordination efforts in the case of a dam emergency or high releases,” said Haywood Manciel, emergency management specialist in the USACE-Albuquerque District.
Approximately 30 people participated in the morning exercise and several district offices were represented including Emergency Management, Water Management, Dam Safety, Operations Division, the Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering Branch, and Public Affairs, as well as maintenance staff from Abiquiu Dam. In addition, representatives from the N.M. Dept. of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Bureau of Reclamation, the City of Abiquiu, and Rio Arriba County, N.M., also participated.
The exercise kicked off with Manciel providing an overview of the Abiquiu Dam Emergency Action Plan (EAP), which guides the actions taken during a dam emergency and contains contact information for partners and stakeholders.
USACE subject matter experts John Burman, Abiquiu Lake Manager; Reynalden Delgarito, Rio Grande Basin Manager; and Ryan Brooks, the Albuquerque District’s Dam Safety Program Manager, provided in-depth briefings on various aspects of the dam, including relevant authorities on water storage, to the attendees.
The scenario and its discussion were the main focus of the exercise. Attendees were given a scenario where weather conditions increased the water level of the reservoir to higher than previously recorded levels. The discussion centered on what would trigger an emergency and how the various stakeholders would respond to the situation, including which agency would be responsible for which actions, as some things require specific authority (i.e., USACE doesn’t have the authority to issue evacuation orders should the need arise). The scenario and discussion were facilitated by Steven Diaz, from the USACE Readiness Support Center.
One of the primary outcomes of the event was establishing the vital importance of creating personal emergency action plans to integrate with the comprehensive overarching plans.
According to Manciel, the district must do drills, seminars, and table-top exercises every two years.