See you next Thursday, November 1st for another Science on Tap
Bring a friend or friends, make a night of it!
Water Resources in the
Middle Rio Grande: A Storm is Brewing but It Doesn’t Look Like Rain
Bruce Thomson
Professor of
Civil Engineering
Director, Water
Resources Program
University of
New Mexico
There is a lot of water that flows through the
middle reach of the Rio Grande or is present in underlying aquifers. Unfortunately,
all of it is appropriated and in fact permits to divert water exceed the actual
wet water available. This talk will summarize how much water is present and how
it is used. The discussion will then turn to some of the principal hydrologic
and regulatory issues that constrain its use. Finally, we will talk about five
of the biggest water challenges facing the region: 1) resolution of Native
American water rights, 2) permits granted to pump ground water without owning
water rights, 3) increased demand for future population growth, 4) water needs
for endangered species, and 5) impacts of climate change on water resources
Civic
Importance:
Increasing demand for water and likely future
decreases in supply will force New Mexicans to make some very tough choices
regarding allocation of water for economic, agricultural, social, cultural,
environmental and quality-of-life uses. This presentation will discuss the
factors associated with managing water so that the necessary community
discussion can be based on knowledge of the resource and the consequences of
future decisions.
Bruce Thomson grew up in California, went to
graduate school in Texas (Rice University), then split the difference and
settled in Albuquerque. He is a Professor of Civil Engineering and
Director of the Water Resources Program at UNM. His research and teaching
interests range across 15 orders of magnitude in size, from the chemistry of
inorganic constituents (sizes less than 1 nanometer) to water resources of the
state of New Mexico and the southwest (greater than 1,000 kilometers).
