NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT, SURFACE WATER QUALITY BUREAU PROPOSES TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS (TMDLs) FOR THE UPPER PECOS WATERSHED

NOTICE OF A 30-DAY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AND COMMUNITY MEETING

The New Mexico Environment Department’s (NMED) Surface Water Quality Bureau (SWQB) is inviting the public to comment on the draft “Total Maximum Daily Load” (TMDL) document for the Upper Pecos watershed. The draft TMDL is available online at: https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/tmdl/. Draft TMDLs in this document include:

•    El Porvenir Creek (SFNF bnd to Hollinger Canyon) – Plant nutrients, temperature

•    Gallinas River (Aguilar Creek to USGS Gage 08382000) – E. coli, plant nutrients, temperature, turbidity

•    Gallinas River (Pecos Arroyo to Las Vegas Diversion) – Plant nutrients

•    Gallinas River (USGS Gage 08382000 to Pecos Arroyo) – Plant nutrients

•    Glorieta Ck (Perennial prt Pecos R to Glorieta Camps WWTP) – Plant nutrients

•    Indian Creek Subwatershed – Specific conductance

•    Pecos River (Alamitos Canyon to Jack’s Creek) – Temperature

•    Pecos River (Canon de Manzanita to Alamitos Canyon) – Plant nutrients

•    Pecos River (Santa Rosa Reservoir to Tecolote Creek) – Plant nutrients

•    Pecos River (Sumner Reservoir to Santa Rosa Reservoir) – E. coli, plant nutrients

•    Pecos River (Tecolote Creek to Villanueva State Park) – Total recoverable aluminum, E. coli, turbidity

•    Pecos River (Villanueva State Park to Cow Creek) – E. coli, turbidity

•    Tecolote Creek (I-25 to Blue Creek) – E. coli

•    Willow Creek Subwatershed – Sedimentation

A TMDL is a planning document that establishes specific goals to meet water quality standards in waterbodies where pollutant limits are exceeded. It includes current pollution loadings, reduction estimates for pollutants, information on probable sources of pollution, and suggestions to restore or protect the health of the waterbody.

The 30-day comment period on this document will open Friday, August 14, 2026, and will close Monday, September 14, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. MDT. Formal comments for inclusion in the public record must be submitted in writing via the NMED Public Comment Portal at: https://nmed.commentinput.com/comment/search or alternately in writing to Meredith Zeigler, e-mail: meredith.zeigler@env.nm.gov; or mailing address: NMED SWQB, P.O. Box 5469, Santa Fe, NM, 87502; voice: (505) 490-5866.

A public meeting will be held to summarize the information and to provide a forum for interested parties to ask questions and provide comments. The meeting will be held on Thursday, September 3, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. MDT via a virtual webinar. Specific meeting details will be made available in a meeting flyer posted to the SWQB website during the week of August 31, 2026.

Following the close of the comment period, copies of the Response to Comments will be:

•    Mailed to all persons who submitted written comments by Monday, September 28, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.; and

•    Available electronically on the bureau’s website or by contacting Meredith Zeigler via email or phone number provided above.

The SWQB plans to request approval of the draft final TMDLs at the Water Quality Control Commission’s (WQCC) October 13 meeting. WQCC agendas are available at: https://www.env.nm.gov/opf/water-quality-control-commission/



For more information, please contact Meredith Zeigler via email or phone number provided above.