U.S. Water News Online
ALBUQUERQUE -- Two groups working on the water future of the Middle Rio Grande Valley are considering everything from piping in desalinated water to removing thirsty nonnative plants from the bosque.
The Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly, a nonprofit volunteer group, and the Mid-Region Council of Governments are releasing a 389-page preliminary water plan that covers Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia counties. The plan has no overall cost estimate.
The region is depleting its water supply by about 18 billion gallons a year, enough to fill a football field 11 miles deep, according to the assembly.
``Everybody is critically dependent on water, and we have less than we are accustomed to (using),'' said Bob Wessely, the assembly's chairman. ``...We're draining our savings account.''
The plan will be submitted to the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission next month and eventually will become part of a statewide plan. Public meetings are slated later this month.
Local governments will be responsible for carrying out the plan, Wessely said. Recommendations aren't binding, even on governments that accept the plan.
It recommends removing nonnative underbrush to make the bosque look more like a mosaic of grasses and cottonwoods; importing desalinated brackish water from the Tularosa Basin or elsewhere beginning in 2020; and lining up to 150 miles of irrigation ditches with concrete so more water reaches the fields.
In conservation measures, the plan recommends requiring low-flow toilets and appliances in new buildings and retrofitting them on 80 percent of existing buildings. It also suggests mandating xeriscapes at new construction and converting 30 percent of existing landscapes to xeriscapes.
The plan wants less water stored at Elephant Butte Reservoir at Truth or Consequences in favor of storing more upstream, where less water evaporates. It also recommends pumping surplus water into the aquifer during wet years.
The conservation ideas came largely from public meetings over the last six years. Technical experts reviewed how much water each recommendation could save.
Some ideas aren't as far-fetched as they might sound, said Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Council of Governments.
For example, importing desalinated water could become common in arid states. He pointed out that natural gas already moves through pipelines around the country.
``The technology for desalination continues to improve as time goes by, becoming more and more cost-effective,'' Rael said.
The plan also makes forecasts that would affect water use. For example, it predicts the amount of land irrigated for agriculture will drop by about 30 percent over the next 50 years, Wessely said.
Return to the U.S. Water News Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields