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$2M deal aims to keep Rio Grande flowing in New Mexico

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The water utility that serves New Mexico's largest metropolitan area will lease water to the federal government to keep the stretch of the Rio Grande that flows through Albuquerque from going dry.
Utility board members voted late Wednesday to approve the $2 million deal.
It comes as the arid state grapples with an ongoing severe drought. After a historically low spring runoff and spotty summer rains, irrigation managers in the area are expected to deplete the last of their stored water within days.
Under the agreement, the federal Bureau of Reclamation will lease up to 20,000 acre-feet from the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority to preserve the flow through October.
The city of Santa Fe also is helping to mitigate losses to the river.
Federal officials plan to seek more funding next year for continued leasing.