New Mexico’s water resource management agencies are telling the Legislature that New Mexico faces Middle Rio Grande compact jeopardy and lacks capacity to prevent that jeopardy from becoming a disaster. What jeopardy, you might be thinking? This is how the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) describes it (emphasis in the original): If hydrology does not improve, and without further action, New Mexico could violate the Rio Grande Compact – an agreement between New Mexico and our neighboring states related to how the waters of the river are shared. A compact violation could trigger curtailment and/or costly litigation that may result in severe and unpredictable shocks to the economy and water supply for agricultural and municipal users in the middle and lower Rio Grande. […] If depletion reductions are managed in a proactive manner, New Mexicans can retain local […]
Water Overuse
📌 Why It Matters New Mexico’s water security is in crisis. New Mexico’s water security is at a tipping point. Decades of overuse, combined with climate-driven scarcity, are depleting aquifers and threatening the state’s ability to sustain communities, agriculture, and […]
The inconvenient truth is New Mexico’s economic well-being depends critically upon water. We are already in one of the driest periods in the last millennium and changing climate will make it worse. Several statewide issues foretell slow train wrecks and […]
If I had only known! How many times have you said that in your life? Grab some caffeine and join me for a tour of our possible water future. Do you remember that time when you meant to go see […]
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 […]