1. Salinity Control on the Pecos River Robert E. Mace, Ph.D., P.G. presented at the Multi-State Salinity Coalition’s Salinity Summit January 26, 2012; Las Vegas, NV

2. figure from Wikimedia Commons

3. Pecos River Length: 929 miles Drainage Basin: 44,402 square miles Discharge near Langtry, Texas: – Average of 265 cfs – Maximum of 152,910 cfs – Minimum of 42 cfs Empties into Lake Amistad

4. Pecos River Reservoirs – New Mexico -- Texas Santa Rosa - Red Bluff Sumner Avalon Brantley Pecos River Compact (ratified in 1949) Pecos River Settlement Agreement (2003)

5. Horsehead Crossing circa 1850

6. Permian Evaporite Deposits from Miyamoto & others (2007)

7. Sources of Salinity Groundwater discharge – Salt springs at Bottomless Lakes East of Roswell 300,000 tons per year – Salt springs at Malaga Bend Just north of stateline 150,000 tons per year Salinity in river = 4,100 ppm Lower flows in river (= less dilution) – Flows at Malaga Bend 210,000 acre-feet in 1959 66,000 acre-feet in 2001

8. Bottomless Lakes

9. Malaga Bend

10. from Miyamoto & others (2007)

11. Salinity at Red Bluff

12. Salinity Plot Near Amistad

13. Impacts Red Bluff Reservoir – Salt loading 478,000 tons per year from Pecos River 80,000 tons per year from Delaware River – Outflow Outflow from reservoir: 410,000 tons/year TDS of water = 6,000 ppm – Too high for most crops Salinity at Girvin: 12,000 ppm Salt loading for Lake Amistad – 26% from Pecos River (10% flow)

14. Control History 1938: NM State Engineer’s Office notes large amounts of salt discharging into Pecos River at Malaga notes source of water from the Rustler Formation 1942: USGS (C.V. Theis) estimates the flow and suggests diverting it 1954: USGS proposes cutting off the bend or pumping groundwater to intercept the flow

15. Control History (cont.) 1958: Congress authorizes the Malaga Bend Salinity Alleviation Project – First salt control project of its kind in the U.S. – Construction by Bureau of Reclamation – Data collection by USGS – Right of way acquired by NM – Operation and maintenance by Texas 1962: Construction starts – 220 ft well – ~2 miles of pipe – Discharge to unlined but compacted 50-acre evaporation pond

16. Malaga Bend

17. Control History (cont.) 1963: Pumping starts – By December 1964, 1,000 acre-feet of water pumped removing 300,000 tons of salt – Decreases brine inflow to river by 70 percent – Possible leakage from depression… 1963 to 1968 – About 3,878 acre-feet of brine is pumped 1970: Texas proposes to pump the brine to Culberson County (Texas) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) 1972: Pumping for EOR starts 1977: EOR pumping stops due to problems with the pump and casing

18. Control History (cont.) 1993: Pumping stops due to – A need to re-engineer the pond – Concerns that pond was hazard to water fowl – Lack of interest by United Salt Company to operate facility 1995: BuRec conducts study of benefits of salt control 2010: Pecos River Water Quality Coalition Forms – Currently working with Corps of Engineers 2012: Pecos River Compact Commissioners work to bring private company back in to pump well again to produce salt

19. Members Texas State Senator Carlos I. Uresti Texas State Representative Pete Gallego Texas Pecos River Compact Commissioner Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board Texas Water Development Board International Boundary & Water Commission Clean Rivers Program Red Bluff Water Power Control District International Boundary & Water Commission Texas Water Resources Institute Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center

20. Initial Tasks Assess salinity – Literature/data review and compilation – Conduct electromagnetic surveys of Red Bluff Reservoir to Independence Creek Evaluate management alternatives – Preliminary economic analyses Update the Watershed Protection Plan – include practices for controlling salinity levels

21. Current Status/Next Steps Filed HCR 21 and SCR 2 in the Texas Legislature Applied for a 319 grant through TSSWCB Developing white paper on background, goals, and membership Federal funds? TSSWCB = Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board