Rio Nambe

About the Rio Nambe

• The Rio Nambé rises in the mountains about five miles east of Nambé Pueblo, in the Sangre de Cristo range, and flows through the Pueblo before eventually joining the Rio Grande.1
• About 25 miles north of Santa Fe the river drops over Nambé Falls, where Nambé Falls Dam, built in 1976 as part of the federal San Juan-Chama Project, stores water for irrigation in the Pojoaque Valley.23
• The river and its falls hold ceremonial significance for Nambé Pueblo, whose people have lived at the site since the 14th century.1

This report follows 13 miles (21 km) of the Rio Nambe, all within the Upper Rio Grande watershed segment. At the lower end of the report the river drains about 39 square miles. Downstream of the mapped reach it flows into the Pojoaque River. 4 gauges with at least 26 weeks of daily flow cover 1932 to 2026.

From the archive: NHDPlus river network, WBD watersheds, NHD waterbodies, TIGER urban areas and the report's gauges.

From the headwaters down

Each watershed segment in order, with last week's flow rated against the same week in 1991–2020.

1. 1

   Segment 1: Upper Rio Grande

   14 cfs last week much above normal.

   Acequias: Acequia De Juan Vigil, Acequia Del Liano, Acequia Del Molino, Acequia La Nueva.

   Median conductance 96 µS/cm in the 2020s. Rain over the last 3 months: 174% of normal.

Culture

• Nambé Pueblo has existed at its present site since the 14th century and was historically a major cultural and religious center; its people took part in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt against Spanish rule; afterwards the Spanish issued land grants to each Pueblo, and the Pueblos gained a measure of freedom from Spanish efforts to eradicate their culture and religion.1
• The Rio Nambé's waters have held ceremonial significance for the Pueblo for centuries.1
• Acequias historically carried Rio Nambé water to fields near the Pueblo's traditional plaza, but federal housing built in the 1960s and 1970s away from the plaza and the acequias led many of those ditches to fall out of use; strong agriculture remains part of Pueblo life today.1
• The Pueblo of Nambé manages the Nambé Falls & Lake Recreation Area on the river, offering camping, hiking and fishing through its own ranger station.2

Acequias

• Acequia De Juan Vigil
• Acequia Del Liano
• Acequia Del Molino
• Acequia La Nueva

From the State Engineer's acequia map, which covers mainly northern New Mexico, and cited records of acequia governance. Within 1.5 km of the river.

Reservoirs

From the archive: National Inventory of Dams (USACE) and the reservoir registry.

Water users

• Nambé Falls Dam, built in 1976 as part of the federal San Juan-Chama Project, stores Rio Nambé water to provide irrigation for the Pojoaque Valley.23
• The Pueblo of Nambé sets fees and rules for camping, fishing and boating at the reservoir it manages above the falls.2

Surface water withdrawn, 2020

In the counties this river crosses (Santa Fe): 13,532 acre-feet. County totals include other streams.

State Engineer, New Mexico Water Use by Categories 2020.

Irrigation districts and acequias

• 4 acequias, community-run irrigation ditches (listed under Culture)

State Engineer's irrigation districts and acequia layers.

Public water systems beside the river

Chupadero MDWCA, Rio En Medio MDWCA

State Engineer's public water systems layer (service areas within 2 km).