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Water quality monitoring in the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico, USA, 2021-2025, Final Report


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Created: Nov 04, 2025 at 8:54 p.m. (UTC)
Last updated: Nov 05, 2025 at 10:27 p.m. (UTC)
Published date: Nov 05, 2025 at 10:27 p.m. (UTC)
DOI: 10.4211/hs.0c4c320c65cb4b038263420bb8dd12da
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Sharing Status: Published
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Abstract

Over the past two decades, research in the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) has greatly advanced our understanding of water quality dynamics and ecosystem processes. A persistent gap, however, has been the lack of continuous data from sites south of Albuquerque, where habitat conditions for the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow (Hybognathus amarus; RGSM) are particularly important. To address this, we established and maintained water quality monitoring stations in each of the three southern sub-reaches of the MRG (Angostura, Isleta, and San Acacia). Our primary objectives were to characterize site- and reach-specific water quality, quantify exceedances of ecological thresholds relevant to RGSM, and describe patterns of longitudinal variation across the system. Results demonstrate that water quality is strongly shaped by hydrologic variability and spatial context. Storm-driven flows from ephemeral tributaries produce extremes in dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and specific conductance, with non-urban inputs delivering high sediment and salts, and urban runoff primarily depressing oxygen. Conversely, low-flow conditions drive thermal extremes and magnify the role of primary production. Longitudinally, storm-driven impacts attenuate downstream, while agricultural drains contribute cooler water that provides localized refugia, and leakage below diversion dams maintains low-temperature flows in incised reaches. Collectively, these findings underscore strong seasonal and spatial tradeoffs in habitat suitability for RGSM conservation.

Subject Keywords

Coverage

Spatial

Coordinate System/Geographic Projection:
WGS 84 EPSG:4326
Coordinate Units:
Decimal degrees
Place/Area Name:
Middle Rio Grande
Longitude
-106.6728°
Latitude
35.0261°

Temporal

Start Date:
End Date:

Content

Credits

Funding Agencies

This resource was created using funding from the following sources:
Agency Name Award Title Award Number
US Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District Using high-frequency sensors to assess water quality trends and suspended sediment surrogates above and below reservoirs in New Mexico and Southern Colorado W912HZ-20-2-0025-Mod-00006

Contributors

People or Organizations that contributed technically, materially, financially, or provided general support for the creation of the resource's content but are not considered authors.

Name Organization Address Phone Author Identifiers
Michael Porter US Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District
Hira Walker US Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District
Christopher McGibbon US Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District
Justin Reale US Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District

How to Cite

Van Horn, D. J. (2025). Water quality monitoring in the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico, USA, 2021-2025, Final Report, HydroShare, https://doi.org/10.4211/hs.0c4c320c65cb4b038263420bb8dd12da

This resource is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
CC-BY

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