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Water in the Middle Rio Grande Context Presentation for Placitas Issues Session

Water Assembly. water unites us el agua nos une. www.WaterAssembly.org (505) 797-4306. Water in the Middle Rio Grande Context Presentation for Placitas Issues Session. Bob Wessely 867-3889 wessely@sciso.com April 5, 2008. Why Are We Here?. Only to Provide a Regional Perspective

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Water in the Middle Rio Grande Context Presentation for Placitas Issues Session

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  1. Water Assembly water unites us el agua nos une www.WaterAssembly.org (505) 797-4306 Water in the Middle Rio GrandeContext PresentationforPlacitas Issues Session Bob Wessely 867-3889 wessely@sciso.com April 5, 2008

  2. Why Are We Here? Only to Provide a Regional Perspective for the Placitas Water Situation

  3. Summary Diverse Region; Over-Spending Its Water Placitas Overview: Extensive 2002 Peggy Johnson Hydrogeology Report New Mexico Tech Report OF-469 – Available in Placitas Library Characteristics Vary Greatly from Place to Place Laced with Geological Faults - “Shoebox Aquifers” Some Sources Disconnected, Others Cover Wide Areas Some Water in Rock Cracks, Some in Sandy Soils Residence Time of Groundwater Some Ancient / Mined; Some Renewed by Recent Precipitation Age in Ground Ranges from 6 Months to 35,000 Years Slow Underground Flows - Generally toward Rio Grande

  4. The Regional Water Plan • Seven Years in the Making; Accepted in 2004 • Unusually Active and Intense General Public Involvement • Sound Scientific and Technical Basis • Agricultural, Developmental, Governmental, Environmental, Legal, and Hydrological Stakeholder Participation A Basis for Moving Forward

  5. The Regional Water Budget – 1972-1997 Riparian Evapo-transpiration69,000 af/yr22% Irrigated Agriculture and Valley Floor Turf105,000 af/yr33% Consumptions:Residential, Industrial, Municipal90,000 af/yr 29% Open Water Evaporation52,000 af/yr 16% Four Similar Sized Sectors in the Region

  6. The Regional Water Budget Bottom Line Ongoing Deficit Spending of Water – 15-20%Last Quarter of the 20th Century Inflows 261,000 af/yr Consumption316,000af/yr Deficit55,000af/yr 55,000 Acre Feet is 18 Billion GallonsEnough to Fill a Football Field 7½ Miles Deep, Every Year !

  7. Rainfall Over 2000 Years in New Mexico Tree rings from El Malpais National Monument (Henri Grissino-Mayer) Last Quarter Century Chaco Canyon abandoned BC AD Average rainfall 14.5 inches/year Mesa Verde abandoned Wettest Quarter Century in 2000 Years +20% avg. -20% We Were Overspending When We Were Flush

  8. I-25 Paseo del Norte Montaño I-40 I-40 Rio Bravo I-25 Aquifers in the Albuquerque Area are Drawn Down 1960 to 2000 Source: U.S. Geological Survey - 2003 Puts a Substantial Drain on River Flows

  9. MRG Population Past and Present - 1910 to 2030 800,000 700,000 Bernalillo 600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 Sandoval 200,000 100,000 Valencia 0 1910 1930 1950 1970 1990 2005 2015 2025 The Population is Growing Three Quarters of New Mexico’s New Residents Move Here

  10. New Mexico Temperature Change +9º F. Summer Winter 0º F. -3º F. 1900 2000 2100 … and the World is Warming Which Will Have Consequences

  11. … With Resulting Implications • Temperature Increases • Snowpack Decreases • Soil Moisture Decreases • Evaporation Increases • Longer / Deeper Droughts • Fewer, More Intense Rain Events We Should Expect Less Available Surface Water

  12. The Challenge:For Each Person, For Each Entity, For Each Level • Beyond Boundaries of Jurisdiction • Beyond Duration of Term of Office • Beyond One’s Own Special Interests • Beyond Our Current Generation • Think Cooperatively • Think Broadly • Think Wet Water Think Water First !For Our Grandchildren, and for Their Grandchildren

  13. Got Water?

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