Posts Tagged ‘problems’
Our Water Crisis
Water is the lifeblood of New Mexico’s economy and communities, yet we face a growing crisis of scarcity driven by overuse and climate change. The stark reality is this: our current path leads to a future where water resources are severely depleted, jeopardizing our environment, economy, and way of life. New Mexico’s economic well-being critically depends on having sufficient water. Without water security, we have no economic security. We are already in one of the driest periods in the last millennium. Due to climate change, New Mexico’s best scientists project an average of 25% less streamflow and groundwater recharge within the next 50 years. Already, Rio Grande streamflow under the bridge to Los Alamos (at the Otowi Gage) has dropped 25% since 1988. With increased pumping caused by drought, a decrease in groundwater levels are accelerating across most of the state, to the point of complete depletion. Ongoing overuse, exacerbated by climate change, is a crisis that New Mexico is not facing up to.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: Addressing New Mexico’s Water Crisis by Adequately Funding the Prerequisites to Data-Driven Water Governance
This ongoing mismanagement of vital water data hampers effective decision-making needed to address the state’s water crisis.
New Mexico is at a crossroads. Without a significant shift towards a water governance framework that recognizes and integrates hydrologic and climate realities with actionable data, parts of the state risk becoming uninhabitable. This shift requires a departure from the Legislature’s practice of passing laws without funding their implementation. It is imperative that the Governor’s Office and the Legislature fully commit to funding the necessary changes outlined in the 2019 Water Data Act and the 2023 Water Security Planning Act. Only through such transformative changes can New Mexico hope to secure a sustainable water future for all its regions and residents.
From the President’s Desk: Water Policy Progress and Tipping Points
On April 9, 2024, I witnessed a significant step forward in local government’s approach to water policies crucial for New Mexico’s future. Bernalillo County elected officials and staff have clearly acknowledged in a draft high-level plan that water poses a constraint. This marks the first official acknowledgment of hydrologic reality in Bernalillo County in a long time.
Read MoreSpending on an Unstrategic Badwater Not-Much-of-a-Supply
The so-called strategic water supply is the opposite, like “produced water” as a name for toxic oil field waste. It is not beginning with the end in mind. It is not putting first things first. It is not informed by facts and science. It is unvetted. It is wrong.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: Sweetwater
The sweet waters of New Mexico are necessary for all life in our beloved state, in all our home places, our querencias. An acerbic senior ISC water engineer told me 25 years ago that we know where New Mexico’s water is. It is where we live, irrigate, water livestock, hunt and fish, and enjoy our heritage. He didn’t need to say “sweetwater”.
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 MoreLet’s Get Real – Part 2
Wake up, New Mexico! We need to be honest with ourselves. Water troubles are coming, big time!
IMHO it’s about time that we pulled our political heads out of the sand. We’ve pursued the state agencies’ concepts …
Read MoreLet’s Get Real!
Wake up, New Mexico! We need to be honest with ourselves. Water troubles are coming, big time!
IMHO it’s about time that we pulled our political heads out of the sand. We’ve pursued the state agencies’ concepts …
Read More