He agreed to take me down the river on the first warm spring day last year to talk about the future of the Rio Grande from the river itself. Norm Gaume, a water resources engineer who once served as director of the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission and as a water manager for the City of Albuquerque, has watched and participated in water planning in the state for decades. That’s worrying for a river as water managers and stakeholders plan for the next five decades of water use in New Mexico - a period that will witness tough choices as a dire and historic drought continues and the river is unable to give everyone what they want or need. The river often runs a murky, reddish beige that matches its muddy banks.īut invisibility also means the river’s more easily forgotten. City noise infrequently penetrates the cottonwoods that beat back the heat and hum with insects and birdsong on summer days. Through much of the city, it hides behind businesses, warehouses, and strip malls.įrom the riverbank or on the river itself, these curtains create a rare reprieve, a place in an urban area that can be mistaken for a pocket of wild. Even from places where you’d expect to see water - designated parking areas near the river or paths along which you carry a boat to cast off from the nearest bank - it’s often invisible behind a screen of cottonwoods. Though the Rio Grande runs through the heart of New Mexico’s biggest city, you can easily miss it. CREDIT: Adria Malcolm for New Mexico In Depth A view of the Bosque and Rio Grande from Pat Baca Open Space in Albuquerque, NM on November 2, 2022.

Albuquerque rain totals today