1. Restoration of the Rio Grande Between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua Restoration of the Rio Grande Between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua Charles D. Turner, Alfredo Martinez, and Jessica Retana

2. Project Summary The development and assessment of scenarios that would allow Rio Grande to remain “wet” through the year in the El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico The formation of a bi-national river restoration work group Provide a clear understanding of the hydrological and engineering conditions, institutional challenges, a biological inventory, and GIS maps of the study area

3. Rio Grande / Rio Bravo

5. Stream Flow

6. Problem Statement The Rio Grande has been transformed into a highly structured channel to meet water supply and flood control needs The potential impact of restoring a portion of the Rio Grande is the reduction in the efficiency of the existing water delivery network

7. Research Questions What are the impacts of restoration How to minimize those impacts Integrate a wet Rio Grande Impacts to existing water institutions

8. Conceptual Design Alternatives CategoryDescription Alternative 1Baseline Data Current hydrologic and engineering structure of the Rio Grande. Alternative 2 No intervention and undisturbed recovery Restore the river without including engineering solutions to reduce the impact to the system Alternative 3Engineering Design Use of engineering solutions or structures to mitigate potential impacts to system Alternative 4In-Action Evaluate the existing system and evaluate potential future conditions

9. 2006 Irrigation Season March 2006 October 2006

10. Mesilla Dam March 2006 October 2006

11. Conclusions Stream flow is the result of the water delivery network Design scenarios developed –within existing river management –with minor adjustments –rethink some policies Rio Grande Restoration Committee

12. Acknowledgments Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP) Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ) Center for Environmental Resource Management (CERM) Junta Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento Juarez U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE) Department Congressman Silvestre Reyes Peter Brock, Rio Grande Watershed Federal Coordinating Committee El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) El Paso Health Foundation The City of El Paso The City of Sunland Park Dr. Jorge A. Salas-Plata Dr. Rene Franco Barreno

13. Questions?