US water managers warn of dismal year along the Rio Grande

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal water managers have released their annual operating plan for the Rio Grande, and it doesn’t look good.

Flows have been meager so far this year because of below-average snowpack and precipitation.

The Rio Grande is one of North America’s longest rivers and a major water source for millions people and thousands of square miles of farmland in New Mexico, Texas and Mexico.

The Bureau of Reclamation warned Thursday that a stellar monsoon season would be the only saving grace, but the odds of that happening are slim.

That means there will be less water for farmers this growing season, and the river could possibly go dry through Albuquerque.