http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lzil5kW27Y&feature=youtu.be
The lower Rio Grande became a flowing river again last week, as the Elephant Butte Irrigation District began delivering water allocations to irrigation farmers in our region.
EBID officials are projecting wetter conditions could make this year’s water allotments up to 70% higher than last year. But the region still needs to make headway in water management projects. Water research funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration could make that more difficult.
It is the beginning of irrigation season in southern New Mexico- Elephant Butte Irrigation District consultant Phil King is coordinating the delivery of water to farmers down the Rio Grande.
“Yesterday morning we made the initial release into the river from the reservoir and so that water is working its way down now.” King said.
Once released, the surge of water snakes it way south towards Mexico- soaking the dry river bed on its way to irrigation farmers and municipal users in Hatch, the Mesilla Valley, El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico.
“It is the beginning of this years surface water irrigation system and it is both a very important part of our economy but also our culture. This whole valley was settled by irrigated farmers and they continue to be a major part of the culture and the economy to this day.” King said.
Every inch of water that flows down the Rio Grande belongs to someone. But seepage from the river and irrigation farming into the ground is the main source of aquifer recharge. Most New Mexicans get their drinking water from the ground.
“The river is the primary source of recharge, probably better than 95% of the recharge to the aquifer system here and the ground water system and the ground water system is what provides all of the drinking water from the city of Las Cruces- Hatch – all the way down Anthony La Mesa, Sunland park, Santa Teresa. All the ground water systems that those municipalities rely on” King said. That ground water originates – from the Rio Grande itself.”
While water allocations are projected to be higher than any at any point since 2010- without ramped up monitoring, coordinated management and water infrastructure projects- the regional long-term supply isn’t necessarily any better off. That is according to New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute director Sam Fernald- He specializes in river to ground water recharge and hydrology. And the problem isn’t new. Fernald lamented the situation in our 2015 documentary “Our Water Future.”
“We are not managing our water in an integrated way.” Fernald said “In the southwest we live in a state of constant scarcity. Our demand is always pushing up or exceeding our supply.”
According to the annual American Infrastructure report card released by the Society of Civil Engineers– New Mexico already needs an estimated $1.1 Billion dollars in water infrastructure improvements over the next 20 years. Current funding levels are not sufficient. President Donald Trump’s budget proposal could put needed improvements further out of financial reach, with the proposed elimination of the Water and Environment Program or WEP. WEP offers financing for water projects in communities with populations under 10,000 people. King said larger Las Cruces has comparable infrastructure and ground water management challenges – but because they are better equipped to adapt and finance solutions- residents often don’t experience water scarcity.
“To tell you the truth a lot of the people particularly in the cities- unfortunately they seem to have the attitude that water comes from the tap and food comes from the super market. They don’t really heed the resource that they are consuming to it’s original synthesis.” King said.
Las Cruces recently released a long-term city water plan. King said city growth and regional industrial development threaten a limited water supply. That’s because 87 percent of water is used in the irrigation of agricultural crops.
“A lot of the work that I do in terms of research is trying to figure out how to manage water to support the demands as best we can – and also to find what level of demand that can be supported” King said.
According to a 2017 Union of Concerned Scientists report, New Mexico is the sixth-fastest-warming state in nation. With annual temperatures expected to rise 3.5 to 8.5 degrees in the next ____years. The threat to an already scarce water supply is real- and one King says our region needs to prepare for…especially in agriculture.
“So you see a lot of high water use crops- like Pecans going in. It could assume they are always going to have a full supply, but we don’t . Starting in 2003 we have had a rude slap back to reality. It basically in reoccurring drought in each year.” King said.
“Our appetite for water in this area really developed during the 1980s and 1990s – and those were some abnormally wet decades. For 24 years we had a full allotment for EBID every year so that got to be normal.” King said.
“We have had a wet year here and there – this one coming down now- maybe be a wet year interspersed amongst a bunch of dry ones- but we clearly have to re-think the way we manage our water.” King said.
A 2013 Bureau of Reclamation analysis found that the Rio Grande could lose 30% of its water flow by the end of the century. Though agriculture uses most of the region’s water supply- farmers won’t be the first to be impacted by water scarcity. The United Nations says the burden of rising temperatures will disproportionally impact the poor.