ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) New Mexico is getting federal funding to build a floodway near Socorro and two other water projects related to the Rio Grande.
U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced Friday that the Army Corps of Engineers will provide $7 million to continue building the initial 5 mi. (8 km) of structural levee in the Rio Grande Floodway's Socorro segment.
The floodway will eventually replace 43 mi. (69 km) of existing levee along the Rio Grande's western bank and is intended to prevent flooding and protect a Bureau of Reclamation channel.
The senators also announced Corps of Engineering funding for watershed assessment in the Rio Grande Basin and $200,000 for a Rio Grande environmental management program to create a basin-wide database.
