July 26 – State and federal agencies are still working to return the Rio Chama to its natural course, more than a month after the river overflowed its banks in northern New Mexico and flooded several residential areas and farm fields in Medanales.
Due to the persistent heavy rainfall in the region in June, sand and silt from the surrounding arroyos washed into the Rio Chama and clogged it. This caused the river to overflow its banks and flood the land in Medanales. Farmland, pastures, driveways and even homes were flooded.
The State Engineer’s Office and the Interstate Stream Commission have provided about $300,000 so far to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to excavate the river using the federal agency’s “specialized equipment and operators,” Maggie Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the state engineer, wrote in an email.
The Bureau of Reclamation began moving equipment June 25, and digging a channel through the sediment plug began July 3, she wrote. Initially, more than 150,000 cubic yards of material were excavated, creating a mile-long channel 40 feet wide and 5 feet deep.
Workers excavated another 100,000 cubic yards “to shore up or excavate problem areas,” Fitzgerald wrote.
While state and federal agencies work together to repair the river, some residents say they have had to deal with damage to their homes and farms on their own.
According to Eric Martinez, a Medanales resident and cattle rancher, the river has been flowing normally for a few weeks, but homes in the community are still flooded.
Martinez said his ranch still has about 30 acres of land covered in 18 inches of mud and standing water that won’t drain because the excavation work has raised the river bank.
On Wednesday night, five excavators were working in the river to scoop out more sand and silt, Martinez said, adding that workers are depositing the material on the sides of the river so that flooded properties don’t flow into the river.
Martinez is keeping his cattle in the Carson National Forest while his pasture is flooded, he said.
Although several government agencies have worked to restore the river, no help appears to be available to repair the damage to private property caused by what was essentially a natural disaster.
“I’m a little disappointed that there’s no immediate help for ranchers who need help,” Martinez said. “We’re just waiting for it to dry up, I guess.”
He noted that after the flooding, workers from Rio Arriba County and other agencies distributed supplies such as blankets and food to some residents in the area.
Fitzgerald gave no indication of completion of the Rio Chama excavation work.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which manages a dam on the south side of Lake Abiquiu, coordinates water releases from the reservoir “based on daily observed channel capacity as the sediment plug dissolves itself at higher flow rates,” Fitzgerald wrote.
“The cleanup will remain in place, ready to address the flooding issues, until canal capacity is restored and normal operation of the Abiquiu Reservoir is resumed,” she added.
