Water in the Middle Rio Grande Context Presentation

Water in the Middle Rio Grande Context Presentation for Placitas Issues Session Bob Wessely 867 -3889 wessely@sciso. com April 5, 2008 www. Water. Assembly. org (505) 797 -4306 1

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

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 3

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 4

The Regional Water Budget – 1972 -1997 Riparian Evapo-transpiration 69, 000 af/yr 22% Irrigated Agriculture and Valley Floor Turf 105, 000 af/yr 33% Consumptions: Residential, ndustrial, Municipal 90, 000 af/yr 29% Open Water Evaporation 52, 000 af/yr 16% Four Similar Sized Sectors in the Region 5

The Regional Water Budget Bottom Line Ongoing Deficit Spending of Water – 15 -20% Last Quarter of the 20 th Century Inflows 261, 000 af/yr Consumption 316, 000 Deficit af/yr 55, 000 Acre Feet is 18 Billion Gallons Enough to Fill a Football Field 7½ Miles Deep, Every Year ! 6

Wettest Quarter Century in 2000 Years Rainfall Over 2000 Years in New Mexico Tree rings from El Malpais National Monument (Henri Grissino-Mayer) Chaco Canyon abandoned +20% BC Last Quarter Century AD avg. -20% Average rainfall 14. 5 inches/year Mesa Verde abandoned We Were Overspending When We Were Flush 7

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

The Population is Growing 800, 000 MRG Population Past and Present - 1910 to 2030 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 Three Quarters of New Mexico’s New Residents Move Here 9

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

… 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 11

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

Got Water? 13