Tecolote Creek Watershed
Geography
The Tecolote watershed is in northeastern New Mexico on the eastern flanks of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains. This marks the southern extent of the Rocky Mountains and the transition zone to the high plains. The headwaters of Tecolote Creek originate in mixed conifer and ponderosa pine forests on the east side of Elk Mountain and flows to the east to its confluence with the Pecos River near Tecolotito, New Mexico.
Watershed Statistics
Water Quality
The protection of water quality in New Mexico is vitally important to the health and well‐being of all New Mexicans and the aquatic life and wildlife that inhabit its waters. The New Mexico Environment Department is responsible for maintaining and improving water quality in surface water (rivers, streams, lakes). Part of that job involves listing bodies of water that have water conditions that do not meet water quality standards.
New Mexico uses a variety of mechanisms, including state, federal, and local programs, to protect and restore the quality of its surface and ground waters. The basic underpinnings of surface water protection as provided in the United States Clean Water Act (CWA) and the New Mexico Water Quality Act (WQA) are found in the State of New Mexico Standards for Interstate and Intrastate Surface Waters [20.6.4 NMAC].
Water quality standards are comprised of the designated uses of surface waters of the state, associated water quality criteria necessary to protect these uses, and an antidegradation policy. Designated uses in New Mexico include aquatic life, fish culture, primary and secondary contact (including cultural, religious or ceremonial purposes), public water supply, industrial water supply, domestic water supply, irrigation, livestock watering, and wildlife habitat. To protect these uses and fulfill the requirements set forth in the law, coordinated programs have been developed to monitor, assess, protect, and restore surface water quality throughout New Mexico. The process of addressing impairments begins with the identification and reporting of impaired waterbodies (e.g., waterbodies not meeting their designated uses).
Some reaches of Tecolote Creek and Falls Creek do not meet state standards for temperature, nutrients, and specific conductance.
See the below file for a list of Water Quality Impairments for the Tecolote Watershed.
There have been no projects in the Tecolote Watershed.
