With flows in the Rio Grande dropping rapidly, Albuquerque will stop diverting drinking water from the river Friday, switching to its groundwater wells for municipal supply.

This is the second year in a row that dry conditions have so depleted the river’s flow that the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority had to shut down its surface water diversion, a mix of imported Colorado River Basin water via the San Juan-Chama Project and native Rio Grande water.

Expect it to stay off, with the city using groundwater, through as late as November this year, I’m told.