Researchers Make Plans for Drought
Date: June 17, 1997
Editor: D'Lyn Ford (505) 646-6528, dlford@nmsu.edu
LAS CRUCES -- Even though city dwellers' faucets and sprinklers aren't likely to dry up anytime soon, planning is essential to making sure New Mexico's water supply remains adequate over the long haul.
A two-year, collaborative study by four Western universities, including New Mexico State University, will consider contingency plans for dealing with water use during drought along the Rio Grande in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.
The study will look at ways to make water use more flexible during times of short supply, said Frank Ward, natural resource economist with NMSU's Agricultural Experiment Station. The study is funded by the U.S. Geological Survey.
"Most of the cities up and down the Rio Grande basin use groundwater, and there is lots of it in New Mexico," Ward said. "So the cities, in the short run, are probably not going to suffer."
However, groundwater -- the water within the earth that supplies wells and springs -- isn't always renewable, he said. So, over the long run, the only renewable water source is the Rio Grande including Elephant Butte Reservoir, which gets its water mostly from snow melt in southern Colorado and some from New Mexico.
"Sooner or later, the issue that must be dealt with is how to best use the water in the river to supply the cities plus the farms," Ward said.
This issue of dealing with a limited water supply is common throughout the desert Southwest.
"The classic question has always been: How do you use that limited water supply to produce the greatest benefit for people who live in the region?" he said. "Other water management questions include how to develop, allocate and price water in such a way that droughts don't hit us as hard as they could."
Ward said the researchers are trying to find ways to minimize economic damages during drought. "We're trying to put together a drought contingency plan. We're approaching it using a mixture of good science and good politics."
On the science side, the researchers are looking for ways to make the institutions that own water rights and manage the water more flexible. "The big irrigation districts are not always enthusiastic about selling water rights, but they might be willing to temporarily put some of their water into a water bank," he said.
The researchers will use a computer model to see how well different drought contingency plans would work. The model takes into account the economics, hydrology and laws about water use in the Rio Grande basin.
"We're primarily interested in predicting what the water use patterns would be up and down the basin near the river," Ward said.
The model will consider the value of both consumptive and non-consumptive water uses like recreation and tourism.
"Recreational uses of water typically are not charged a price, so it's not easy to know their value," Ward explained. "We have to look at expenditure patterns to see how far people travel to go to a place like Elephant Butte Reservoir. The fact that people might come from 150 miles is pretty strong evidence that the recreation is worth something to them."
On the political side, Ward said discussing people's attitudes about water and having face-to-face meetings are a necessary complement to "good science." A steering committee for the project includes major water managers along the Rio Grande.
"There is a history among these three states of tension and mistrust," Ward said. "There's an old saying that whisky is for drinking and water is for fighting."
In light of the history, Ward said the researchers are not so naive to think their study will bring everyone together as friends.
"We think that by having the objective, computer model as the focal point for looking at the water conflicts, it will bring a more modern approach to resolving them," Ward said.