Posts by Norm Gaume
2023 Year-End Report – From the President’s Desk
Together, New Mexicans made significant strides in addressing the multifaceted challenges of water management and conservation in New Mexico in 2023.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk
My first day of November began with a reflective walk along the Rio Grande. From one day to the next, the river had transformed from a trickle to a surge.
Read MoreThe Urgent State of the Rio Grande
Water is Life! Our fight against escalating water consumption and the impending scarcity demands unified, concerted efforts from all sectors and communities. It is essential to align on the objective of water conservation and embark on sustainable practices immediately. The onus is not on the State alone; it’s a collective responsibility to ensure the preservation and sustainability of water resources for the generations to follow.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk
September was a pivotal month in advancing equitable adaptation to escalating water scarcity within the Middle Rio Grande. Please follow our work and attend our October and November events.
Read MoreUNM’s Middle Rio Grande Water Data Dashboard: Status Report & What’s Next
The Water Data Dashboard will be online at the end of this semester as an interactive website prototype with integrated graphic views and drill-down features, illustrating where our water comes from, where it is going, and what we need to know but don’t.
Read MoreReminding Reclamation about a Key Issue and an Essential Resource
Reclamation listed key issues and important resources it will consider in its Environmental Impact Statement evaluation of reducing the waste of water caused by its 1950s failed river infrastructure. Surprisingly, Reclamation did not list the limited Rio Grande Compact water apportionment to New Mexico, for depletion within the Middle Rio Grande, as a resource that should be protected. Compliance with the compact delivery requirements is a key issue the EIS must fully consider.
Read MoreWater: An Urgent Community Problem Requiring A Community-Driven Solution
Water problems in New Mexico are community problems. The only way to generate sustainable solutions is to understand water as a collective action problem and empower the people to take action.
Read MoreArgentine Fulbright Scholars Recommendations for New Mexico’s Water Future
20 Argentine Fulbright Scholars evaluated and made recommendations for the Middle Rio Grande’s and New Mexico’s water future. Their insightful policy recommendations focused on sustainability, inclusion, equity, research, alliances, water governance reform, and public education and incentives. They characterized New Mexico’s water problems as community problems that require community-driven solutions through collective action.
Read MoreState Engineer’s Water Policy and Infrastructure Task Force Report
New Mexico enters 2023 in a water crisis. But with unprecedented peril comes unprecedented opportunity.
To address that challenge, and those opportunities, a diverse task force of stakeholders from across New Mexico came together from June to November 2022, studying the problems and coming to broad, shared conclusions: our challenges are dire, but there are things we can do if we act now.
Voters across New Mexico are concerned about water resources.
Polling shows 75 percent of likely voters agree or strongly agree that we need to act now to ensure that future generations have an adequate water supply. Two thirds of voters agree or strongly agree that the New Mexico Government needs to modernize and dedicate more funding towards the management of our water quality and…
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