Hydrologic-Economic Analysis of Best Management Practices for Sediment Control in the Santa Fe Watershed, New Mexico

The Santa Fe River Watershed in Santa Fe County, New Mexico was identified as one of the top five high risk nonpoint source pollution areas out in the Rio Grande Basin. This watershed was selected to demonstrate the use of hydrologic modeling as a powerful tool for assessing the impacts of land management practices on erosion and sediment control at the watershed level. A method based on the Hydrologic Simulation Program-Fortran was used to address the local nonpoint sediment pollution concerns. The model was modified to reflect predicted future land uses related to expected urban expansion in the watershed. Six scenarios were created and the costs and benefits of each were weighed. The total estimated costs ranged from under $1 million to over $66 million. Total average annual sediment yields at the watershed outlet ranged from 3,441 to 4,111 tonnes/year, depending on management practices employed. These results indicate the magnitude of expected sediment reductions under various management strategies. Additionally, they provide an indication of the magnitude of expected sediment reductions in the Santa Fe Watershed and the estimated cost of each management practice.