By Ben Neary
NMWF Conservation Director
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers periodically has cut releases from Abiquiu Dam to zero over recent weeks to perform maintenance. Some anglers say they’re concerned about harm to the trout population downstream.
Ivan Valdez, co-owner of The Reel Life fly shop in Santa Fe, has been urging state and federal officials to maintain a steady minimum flow to keep the Rio Chama fishery healthy.
“When you have the outflows at zero, it becomes like fishing in a barrel,” Valdez said. Trout are forced to gather in remaining pools close to the dam when releases are cut off, he said. In downstream stretches that lack pools, he said trout likely will die.
Valdez said the spawning beds of the river’s wild brown trout population have been left exposed. And he said the insect populations that trout rely on is being harmed.
U.S. Geological Survey records show that releases from Abiquiu Dam dropped from averaging over 1,000 cubic feet per second to just under 100 cfs in mid-November.
Over the last couple of weeks, USGS records show the release from Abiquiu Dam has averaged under 100 cfs. However, graphs of the continuous flow so far in December show nine days when releases have been essentially zero for many hours at a time.
Valdez said he’s heard from anglers and other outfitters who are concerned about the effects of the low flows. He said he’s made no progress in requesting the corps to pump water over the dam while the maintenance work is ongoing.
“This is ruining our livelihood,” Valdez said. He said he and other fishing guides can’t bring clients to the river when flows are cut off.
According to information from the corps, the dam is in good condition and is not undergoing any major repairs. During the current maintenance project, the flow of water through the dam is cut off periodically so workers can enter the main conduit that carries water from the lake.
John Burman, lead ranger with the corps at Abiquiu Lake, said Thursday that work is continuing on the project. He said flows will continue to be periodically be cut to zero until the project is completed, sometime this spring.
“I have head some people are concerned about the fish in the river being killed off by that, or other similar concerns,” Burman said. “But we’ve done environmental impact studies and that’s why we have a limited window on those shutoffs, so that we’re only stopping flows for a limited amount of time. There are lots of deep pools in the river that the fish can retreat to during those times, and in the evenings and overnight, we are going back to normal releases for this time of year.”
When people are working in the conduit that carries water through the dam, “obviously we can’t have large amounts of water flowing through there,” Burman said.
The cut-offs usually only last for a few hours, Burman said. He said he understands that the agency is authorized to cut off releases for up to eight hours.
The corps inspects the conduit every year, Burman said. However, he said the current work is not merely an inspection. “This is a much larger project,” he said. “As well as an inspection, they are doing coatings and other work inside the conduit.”
Kirk Patten, chief of fisheries management with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, said Wednesday that his staff has been performing habitat surveys on the Rio Chama this month.
“Flows are low, there’s no doubt about it,” Patten said. But he said a department biologist recently observed fish rising and people catching fish below the dam.
“We’re keeping an eye on it,” Patten said. “The corps has dropped flows for maintenance purposes before during these time frames, and we’ve never observed any significant fish-kill or anything like that. Right now, our approach is to keep an eye on it, and monitor it. If we start to see some issues arise, then we’re going to talk to the corps, and see what else needs to be done.”