The annual Basin Advisory Committee (BAC) meetings to discuss issues within the basin and to receive stakeholder input are planned for the upper and lower basins. These meetings are held in conjunction with the Rio Grande Citizens' Forum (RGCF) meetings (Click for more information and Meeting Minutes on the Upper RGCF and Lower RGCF webpages). More information on BACs is on our Participation page. The BAC meetings will be held as follows:

Basin	Date/Time	Location	Link
Upper Rio Grande	TBA, Target Sept. 2010	El Paso, TX
Lower Rio Grande	TBA, Target: summer 2010	Mercedes, TX

The annual Coordinated Monitoring Meetings gather parties that are currently conducting water quality monitoring activities in that portion of the basin to discuss the next fiscal year's monitoring schedule.

Basin	Date/Time	Location
Upper Rio Grande	TBA, Target: April 2010	El Paso, TX - USIBWC offices
Middle Rio Grande	TBA, Target: April 2010	Laredo, TX - City of Laredo Env. Services
Lower Rio Grande	TBA, Target: April 2010	Harlingen, TX - TCEQ Office
Pecos	TBA, Target March 2010	Midland, TX - TCEQ Office

For more information on these meetings, please contact Elizabeth Verdecchia at 915-832-4701.

Outreach Events

Event	Date/Time	Location	Link

Other Activities in the Rio Grande Basin by other organizations:

None Currently. Let us know about them!

Previous events, meetings, and activities

Click here to see archived calendar/events.

Updates

2010 Rio Grande Basin Calendars have arrived! Email us if you want one!
The 2008 Basin Summary Report and the 2009 Basin Highlights Report are available in PDF format. If you would like a hard copy, please send requests to Elizabeth Verdecchia.
The 2009 Small Project Funding opportunty Awardees are posted on the Friends of the Rio Grande website.

Current Special Studies and Projects

Upper Rio Grande
Metals in water, 2010. USIBWC CRP will use TCEQ sampling kits to collect total and dissolved metals samples at 5 stations in El Paso and Hudspeth counties. Metals data will be posted on our website on a continuous basis.
Bacteria, 2010. The Paso del Norte Watershed Council (PdNWC) is receiving 319(h) grant funding from EPA and New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to develop a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) to address a bacteria impairment in the Lower Rio Grande of New Mexico. The efforts to address bacteria contamination by PdNWC are unique because they cross jurisdictional boundaries. This section of the Rio Grande weaves in and out of Texas and New Mexico for about 16 miles, and Texas segment 2314, which overlaps with 3 New Mexico assessment units throughout this 16-mile stretch, is also impaired for bacteria. USIBWC CRP will support the monitoring efforts and provide assistance for the WRAS.
Biological control of saltcedar, 2007-2011. The US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has been studying means of controlling the aggressive, exotic saltcedar (tamarix) by introducing a biological control agent, the Diorhabda spp. beetle. IBWC has participated in binational discussions of the transboundary affects of the biological control projects.

Lower Rio Grande
Bacteria, 2010. USIBWC CRP is working with the University of Texas at Brownsville to conduct a special study to identify the source of and characterize the bacteria impairment in Segment 2302_07 in the Brownsville area of the Lower Rio Grande. The project’s Quality Assurance plan has been approved and the intensive monitoring will begin fall 2009 and continue through spring 2010. Scope of Work and QA plan is Appendix F on the FY10 QAPP.

Pecos River
Salinity, 2008-2010. The CRP is assisting in a multi-year special study on the Pecos River to evaluate salinity. TCEQ is collecting data on a monthly basis and a report will be made available in the next year.
Watershed Protection Plan, 2006-2015. Another special project on the Pecos is the Pecos Watershed Protection Plan led by TWRI, AgriLife, EPA, and other organizations. The watershed protection plan creates a management plan for the Pecos River region. For more information please visit the Pecos River Basin Assessment Program.