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contributor authorBrian D. Richter
contributor authorEnrique Prunes
contributor authorNing Liu
contributor authorPeter Caldwell
contributor authorDongyang Wei
contributor authorKyle Frankel Davis
contributor authorSamuel Sandoval-Solis
contributor authorGabriela Rendon Herrera
contributor authorRamon Saiz Rodriguez
contributor authorYufei Ao
contributor authorGambhir Lamsal
contributor authorMaria Amaya
contributor authorNatalie Shahbol
contributor authorLandon Marston
date accessioned2024-04-27T22:35:01Z
date available2024-04-27T22:35:01Z
date issued2024/02/01
identifier other10.1061-JWRMD5.WRENG-6278.pdf
identifier urihttp://yetl.yabesh.ir/yetl1/handle/yetl/4296998
description abstractThe Rio Grande–Rio Bravo’s flow regime has been highly altered for more than 130 years, yet the river ecosystem still supports important biodiversity including numerous endangered species. More than 80% of water consumed in the basin goes to irrigating farms, but in recent decades, farmers have repeatedly experienced severe water shortages. Given this water-scarce condition, any plans for enhancing environmental flows must be carefully designed to minimize impacts or provide benefits to agriculture. This study describes the development of the Rio Grande–Rio Bravo’s first whole-basin hydrologic model—representing both the United States and Mexico portions of the basin—to enable exploration of environmental flow restoration needs and options for meeting these needs. We then demonstrate an analytical process in which environmental flow needs are compared to existing flow conditions to quantify gaps, and then evaluate how those gaps can be filled by reducing farm irrigation needs by shifting to less water-intensive crops and fallowing a portion of existing farmland while maintaining or improving net revenues. In our pilot assessment we find that an improvement of 2.2  m3/s would fill the environmental flow gap for late-summer low-flow conditions at Albuquerque, New Mexico. This flow enhancement is attainable by fallowing 18%–26% of cropland and shifting to more profitable and less water-intensive crops to sustain overall farm revenues.
publisherASCE
titleOpportunities for Restoring Environmental Flows in the Rio Grande–Rio Bravo Basin Spanning the US–Mexico Border
typeJournal Article
journal volume150
journal issue2
journal titleJournal of Water Resources Planning and Management
identifier doi10.1061/JWRMD5.WRENG-6278
journal fristpage04023079-1
journal lastpage04023079-11
page11
treeJournal of Water Resources Planning and Management:;2024:;Volume ( 150 ):;issue: 002
contenttypeFulltext


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