The first is the snowmelt from the mountains of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. The second is water imported from tributaries of the San Juan River in Colorado. That water is pumped through tunnels and dumped into the Chama River, which flows into the Rio Grande. The city of Albuquerque gets more than anyone else, but the conservancy district gets a share, too. Federal water managers said in a report last month that they have little or no control over either kind of water.
Conservationists contend the federal government has control over both kinds of water.
If they are right, it could mean more water would be made available more easily to the river, because the federal government has a high degree of responsibility under the Endangered Species Act for things that are under its control. But federal water managers say the San Juan-Chama water is specifically earmarked, by law, for specific uses that do not include helping fish or wildlife. That means federal agencies have little or no independent control over that water. The San Juan-Chama water, city officials say, is supplemental to the river's natural water and should not be taken to make up for a loss of native water. Still, city water officials have left open the possibility they might allow use of their water in the future.