New Mexico Water eNews

September 2016

Andrew Letter, ENMU (left), Behnaz Yekkeh, NMHU (middle), and Amanda Otieno, UNM (right) are among fifteen students who will receive 2016 NM WRRI Student Water Research Grants.

NM WRRI Awards 15 Student Water Research Grants
by Catherine Ortega Klett, Program Manager

NM WRRI is pleased to announce Student Water Research Grants for FY 17. The grants are effective October 1, 2016 and will support research efforts by undergraduates, master’s and doctoral students enrolled at NMSU, UNM, NM Tech, NMHU, and ENMU.

Financial support for the program was made possible by State of New Mexico funding. The grants support the training of New Mexico’s future water experts and are intended to help students initiate water research projects or to supplement existing projects. Grants of up to $6,000 were awarded for nine-month projects. Students work under the supervision of a faculty advisor and provide the NM WRRI with a final project report, which will be posted on the institute’s website. Projects will be featured in the “New Mexico Water eNews” in the coming months. Most grant recipients will be presenting posters on their research at the upcoming 61st Annual New Mexico Water Conference in Silver City on October 6-7, 2016.

Congratulations to this year’s NM WRRI Student Water Research Grant Program recipients.

The map illustrates the little-to-no recharge occurring in much of New Mexico. Most of the recharge occurs in the high mountains where precipitation rates are higher and average temperatures are lower. Map provided by Talon Newton (NMBGMR), Fred Phillips (NM Tech), and David Ketchum (NM Tech).

Refinement of Statewide Water Assessment Underway
by Jesslyn Ratliff, Program Specialist

For the third year in a row, the New Mexico Legislature has provided funds to support the New Mexico Statewide Water Assessment (SWA). The Assessment is important because it will provide new, dynamic (updated frequently), spatially representative assessments of water budgets for the entire state of New Mexico.

With the FY 2017 funds that were provided by the NM Legislature, NM WRRI has funded seven projects that involve researchers from NMSU, NM Tech, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, U.S. Geological Survey, and Tetra Tech Inc. Most of the projects continue work initiated over the past three years on the SWA. Funded projects began August 2016.

The Truchas system is just across the road from where Robert Redford filmed Milagro Beanfield War in Truchas, NM which is mentioned in the AramcoWorld article. Photo taken by Will Keener.

Acequia Project Featured in AramcoWorld
by Jesslyn Ratliff, Program Specialist

Dr. Sam Fernald, Director of NM WRRI, was principal investigator of a National Science Foundation recently completed six-year project entitled: “CNH: Acequia Water Systems Linking Culture and Nature: Integrated Analysis of Community Resilience to Climate and Land-Use Changes.”

The goal of the “CNH” project was to contribute to the understanding of acequia-moderated linkages between culture and nature and to quantify community survival tipping points.

An article related to the focus of the “CNH” project was featured in the September/October 2016 issue of AramcoWorld. The article, written by Gerald Zarr, discusses how acequias came to exist in the American Southwest, specifically the acequia history in northern New Mexico including present day governing challenges. In the article, Zarr described the El Agua es Vida museum exhibit that was held at UNM’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology May 2014 thru June 2015 and referred to the “El Agua es Vida: Acequias in New Mexico” painting now housed at the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute thanks to the artist, George Chacón. The museum exhibit has proven to be a highlight of the CNH project.

Dr. Sam Fernald was cited in the article discussing the hydrologic data that are a direct result of the “CNH” initiative. The article also includes quotes from one of the co-principal investigators of the project, Jose Rivera (UNM). Project consultant Sylvia Rodriguez (UNM) was also interviewed for the article.

The article entitled: How the Middle Eastern Irrigation Ditch called Acequia Changed the American Southwest can be found here: http://www.aramcoworld.com/en-US/Articles/September-2016/How-The-Middle-Eastern-Irrigation-Ditch-Called-Ace

Forty Posters to be Displayed at NM WRRI Annual Water Conference
by Catherine Ortega Klett, Program Manager

A highlight of each year’s NM WRRI water conference is the presentation of posters by students, faculty, agency staff, and others conducting water-related research in New Mexico and the region. The poster session will take place on Friday morning, October 7 as part of the day-and-a-half conference. This year’s conference theme is Where Does All the Water Go? History, Hydrology and Management of New Mexico’s Scarce Waters.

In response to a Call for Poster Abstracts, the institute received 40 abstracts related to water research and management issues. Click here to see the abstracts that will be presented at the 61^st Annual New Mexico Water Conference.

Several NM WRRI staff and students will be exhibiting their posters. Read more

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NM WRRI website