A discussion with Nat Chakeres, OSE General Counsel, and Tanya Trujillo, Deputy State Engineer, discussing how the OSE is managing Rio Grande Compact compliance in the Middle Rio Grande and below Elephant Butte Dam in the Lower Rio Grande. Learn about incentives and motivators that the OSE can use to ensure that New Mexico complies with its legal water sharing mandates.
We estimate that only half (48%) of water directly consumed for anthropogenic purposes is supported by renewable replenishment; the other half (52%) has been unsustainable, meaning that it is causing depletion of reservoirs, aquifers, and river flows. The over-consumption of renewable water supplies is primarily due to irrigated agriculture, which accounts for 87% of direct […]