Water Sage
More Information & Links
Water quantity and quality are complex topics. Below are some links to more information separated by tildes (~~~).
"The key fact about our water:
demand exceeds supply"
"Growing and increasingly diverse demands for water in the Middle Rio Grande region—including the State’s needs for water supply for about half its population and economy, and for wildlife and ecological uses—cannot all be met."
Framework For Public Input To A State Water Plan, Prepared By The New Mexico Office Of The State Engineer And The Interstate Stream Commission, December 2002, http://www.seo.state.nm.us
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Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan
http://waterassembly.org/waterplan.htm
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Demands and Growth
Water demands have changed. One example is a result of our population growth. Fifty years ago, Bernalillo County's population was 260 thousand, which doubled by 2000 and is estimated to reach 1 million by 2030.
Such rapid growth has led to an increase in the amount and type of water demands, which must be filled from by surface and groundwater sources. Groundwater withdrawals have caused the water table under Albuquerque to decline, in some places, dramatically.
River flows, in turn, have been depleted.[a] For any new water uses, existing water usage must cease, as water rights are transferred. That has lead to a reduction of agricultural areas, a trend which is projected to continue.
Surveys show that the public places a high value on the environmental and agricultural uses of water.[b]
[a]“…simply stated, for every one gallon of water you pump from a well, ultimately there will be one less gallon of water flowing down[the] river…This may take a long time before it occurs, but basically this is reality. It’s also interesting that after you cut off a well, you [still] see the impact on the river.” Former NM State Engineer Tom Turney, speaking to the Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly, June 2005
[b] Attitudes and Preferences of Residents of the Middle Rio Grande Water Planning Region Regarding Water issues: Summary Report to the Action Committee of the Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly and the Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments (UNM Institute for Public Policy/The University of New Mexico; Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 2000).
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Drought and climate variations
Drought and climate variations are predicted to further limit our already stretched water supply. A recent study suggests that temperatures throughout the Rio Grande are projected to increase by roughly 5–6 °F during the 21st century.
The projections also suggest that annual precipitation in the Rio Grande Basin will remain quite variable over the next century with a decrease of from 2.3 to 2.5% by 2050.
Mean annual runoff is projected to decrease by from 7.3 to 14.4% by 2050.
Moisture falling as rain instead of snow at lower elevations will increase the wintertime runoff and decrease runoff during the summer.
reliant on ground water for municipal and rural uses. Warmer conditions might increase evaporation and decrease runoff, which will likely result in less natural groundwater recharge, resulting in even lower ground water levels.
Reclamation Climate Change and Water 2011, Section 6 - Basin Report: Rio Grande (4/25/11), www.usbr.gov/climate/SECURE/factsheets/riogrande.
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Middle Rio Grande Ecosystem Bosque Biological Management Plan
The First Decade: A Review & Update
By Lisa Robert
June, 2005
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