Rio Peñasco

About the Rio Peñasco

• The Rio Peñasco rises east of Cloudcroft near the crest of the Sacramento Mountains, at an elevation of about 8,372 feet, and flows generally southeast across a roughly 675-square-mile watershed in Otero and Chaves counties to its confluence with the Pecos River south of Artesia.1
• Limestone in the valley walls feeds the river with numerous springs, and its upper canyons are documented habitat for the Sacramento Mountains thistle, a wetland plant found only in the Sacramento Mountains of Otero County and listed as threatened in 1987.123
• Small farming and ranching communities, including Mayhill, Duncan and Weed, grew up along the river after Hispanic settlers arrived in the mid-19th century and a second wave of American settlers followed around 1880.1

This report follows 114 miles (183 km) of the Rio Peñasco, all within the Rio Penasco watershed segment. At the lower end of the report the river drains about 1,073 square miles. Named tributaries joining it here include the Bluewater Creek and Agua Chiquita Creek. Reservoirs on this reach: Brainard Lake. 3 gauges with at least 26 weeks of daily flow cover 1951 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: Rio Penasco

   16 cfs last week above normal, 255 dry days this year.

   Median conductance 620 µS/cm in the 2020s. Rain over the last 3 months: 148% of normal.

Culture

• The Rio Peñasco valley was first settled by Hispanic families in the mid-19th century; a second wave of American settlers arrived around 1880 and, together with the earlier Hispanic settlers, established the small farming and ranching communities of Mayhill, Duncan and Weed.1

Habitat

• The Sacramento Mountains thistle, a wetland-obligate plant confined to travertine springs and seeps between about 7,500 and 9,200 feet, was listed as a threatened species in 1987; the Rio Peñasco canyon is one of its documented sites, where a 2001-2002 riparian improvement project restored enough water flow for the plant to reoccupy previously vacated habitat, and livestock exclusion has helped some other populations recover.23
• A 2003 state watershed survey found heavy, nuisance-level algal growth in the Rio Peñasco channel, and determined that both the Rio Peñasco and its tributary Agua Chiquita fail to support their aquatic-life designated use because of fine-sediment buildup linked to burned-area runoff, streambank erosion and road runoff.1
• State water-quality standards designate the perennial reaches of the Rio Peñasco above NM Highway 24 near Dunken, along with Agua Chiquita, for coldwater aquatic life and fish culture, while the lower river from Highway 24 down to the Pecos is designated for warmwater aquatic life.1
• The Lincoln National Forest has worked to restore a modified, non-functioning wetland along the Rio Peñasco and stabilize a road crossing to improve water quality and habitat for wildlife and rare plants, including federally listed species.4

Reservoirs

No reservoir with 500 acre-feet or more of storage on this river in the National Inventory of Dams.

Water users

• State water-quality standards list irrigation and livestock watering among the designated uses of the Rio Peñasco and Agua Chiquita, and the small farms and ranches of Mayhill, Duncan and Weed remain agricultural today.1
• A 2003 state survey found that, to supply flood irrigation, water users have moved stretches of the Rio Peñasco out of its natural channel and into an artificial conveyance channel along the valley floor.1

Surface water withdrawn, 2020

In the counties this river crosses (Chaves, Eddy, Otero): 144,360 acre-feet. County totals include other streams.

State Engineer, New Mexico Water Use by Categories 2020.

Irrigation districts and acequias

• Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District (696,184 acres mapped)

State Engineer's irrigation districts and acequia layers.

Public water systems beside the river

Artesia Rural Water Co-Operative, Mayhill Water Supply Company, Hope Water System

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