Located on the hillside behind the town of Madrid, NM you can see a brand new stormwater design in action. Due to heavy flooding from the infrequent and sometimes catastrophic deluges that can come in the summer months, the New Mexico Abandoned Mine Land Program headed by John Kretzmann put together a design and installation project to help harvest, and control stormwater to mitigate the flooding issues.
The project included simple passive water harvesting structures such as one rock dams, to more complex hand built and machine constructed Zuni bowls to help harvest and utilize the stormwater to grow native vegetation and keep the water from running off the hillside.
The hillside was planted with an array of native shrubs and trees which were established for a single growing season.
This stormwater design and reclamation project, for which we provided the main labor force, safely and successfully mitigates historic mining-related impacts to the community. It included the design and installation of innovative, effective and sustainable stormwater infrastructure and erosion control measures that rehabilitated degraded land. The visual impact to the historic landscape is barely noticeable.
The project won the 2017 Excellence in Reclamation Award on behalf of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Mining and Minerals Division. Rangeland Hands, Inc., RiverBend Engineering and The RainCatcher, Inc. were the proud recipients. The award, presented by The Mining and Minerals Division of the NM Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Dept, is for a reclamation project in Madrid, NM.
Instituted in 1996, the Excellence in Reclamation Award recognizes excellence and innovation in coal, hard rock and aggregate mine reclamation and abandoned mine land reclamation projects, and for raising public awareness of mining issues through outreach projects conducted around the state. The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department presents the awards at the annual New Mexico Mining Association Conference.
Congrats to our colleagues!
Many thanks and credits to Steve Carson, Chris Phillips, Craig Sponholtz, and John Kretzmann for their great leadership and guidance through the entire project.
Click photo to view larger, click large image to move forward
Rock media luna to collect sheet flow, slow, infiltrate and direct it
Step pool rock channel, slows precipitation & prevents erosion
A dry stack rock wall built to divert storm drainage
Precast architectural blocks for stormwater control