Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District

Keeping The Valley Green

Supporting Sustainable Agriculture for 80 years

Irrigation, Flood Control, Drainage, Open Space, Recreation And Wildlife

Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards—The New Mexico Environment Department has released a draft of its Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards. Click here to read a summary of the proposed changes.  Click here for the full, 121-page report.

Corrales Recreational Ride  will be held Saturday, Sept. 20. It’s a three-hour equestrian event that will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Corrales Recreation Center and feature riding along the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District’s ditchbanks in Corrales. It all ends with a brunch that will have raffles and door prizes. For more information, Call Vita Zodin at 897-0087

MRGCD Board Op-Ed on Ditches With Trails

By The MRGCD Board of Directors

            Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

            Those noble words, written so long ago, continue to stir our souls and minds. They do so because they represent, not some archaic and discredited principle, but rather an always-fresh and enlightened ideal of the relationship between government and the people. These words mean that the people are in charge and that public and elected officials must and shall abide by the wishes of those they serve. On July 28, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District’s board of directors did just that when we voted unanimously to end a relationship with the Ditches With Trails Steering Committee project.

Read the rest of the article here.

Ditches With Trails Project Rejected -- Ditches with Trails is dead. The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District board on Monday voted unanimously to terminate its involvement in the project, which sought to formalize and enhance the existing system of ditch trails in the North and south Valleys. Read the story here.

FEMA Changes Flood Plain Maps --Some Bernalillo residents are finding that they will have to obtain flood insurance because their homes are in high-risk zones identified by newly expanded Sandoval County FEMA flood plain maps. In addition, the town of Bernalillo will have to consider whether to improve its levee along the river or scrap it and build a new one, according to discussion at a public input meeting on the expanded flood plain maps, held Wednesday at Town Hall. Federally required upgrades have not been done to the levee built in the 1930s. Read the story here.

MRCOG Ag Page - The Mid-Region Council of Government’s agriculture page is a great resource for small farmers and those looking to buy locally-grown produce. Here you’ll find information about farmers’ markets in the region, how to save water, conserve farmland and sell produce. It’s an invaluable site for farmers and backyard gardeners. Please check it out.

MRGCD Holds the Line on Taxes - The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District board, wanting to avoid raising taxes, pruned its budget and dug into its savings to prevent an increase to ratepayers. The board approved a $23.2 million budget Thursday, meaning homeowners living in the district will not face a property tax increase. The district's overall budget was more than 25 percent larger than last year's, but that is mainly due to a $6 million levee repair project in the South Valley, for which the district is responsible for $4 million.

Read the rest of the story here.

A Little About Us

     The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District helps keep the Middle Rio Grande Valley green.  Our 1,200 miles of ditches and canals ensure that the Valley is full of lush farmlands, open space, wildlife, recreational opportunities and places where people can relax in peaceful repose and escape from the hectic pace of modern life. We convey water to and from 70,000 acres of croplands from Cochiti on the north, to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on the south.

The MRGCD was formed in the 1920s with the express purpose of draining the Valley’s waterlogged lands, reclaiming them for agriculture and providing irrigation water, drainage and flood control for future generations. Our mission has evolved, and we are now stewards of 30,000 acres of bosque—the largest continuous cottonwood forest in North America.

We are honored to be able to provide such valuable services to the people of the Middle Rio Grande Valley. Help us, please, in keeping the Valley forever green.

Irrigated farmland west of an MRGCD ditch near Socorro