New Mexico Water eNews

Student Receives Grant to Study Removal of Lead from Water Supplies
by Marcus Gay, NM WRRI Student Program Coordinator

In New Mexico, heavy metals such as lead are being released into waterways and groundwater from over 15,000 abandoned mines. Excess lead in groundwater can be harmful to humans, making heavy metals water contamination a serious environmental issue in New Mexico. Therefore, it is important to explore effective techniques to remove lead from groundwater. This is the focus of Jiuling Yu’s research.

Jiuling Yu is a PhD candidate at New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Chemical & Materials Engineering Department. This year, Yu received an
NM WRRI Student Water Research Grant entitled, Wastewater-Treatment Algae-Derived Hydrochar for Heavy Metal Adsorption and Recycling. The objectives of the project are to (1) investigate the effects of pretreatments (oil extraction and CO₂ activation) on the adsorption capacity of lead, (2) explore the adsorption capacity on lead Pb(Ⅱ) for waste hydrochar derived from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL)-algae, and (3) evaluate the feasibility of recycling lead-adsorbed hydrochar as anode materials in lithium-ion batteries.

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Animas and San Juan Watersheds Webinar
Call for Abstracts
by Mark Sheely, NM WRRI Program Coordinator

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all of our lives, and while we work to adapt to this challenge, NM WRRI is committed to offering a safe forum to share new research and monitoring updates on the Animas and San Juan watersheds. This means that we've decided to now host our 5th annual Animas and San Juan Watersheds Conference as a Zoom-exclusive webinar series from June 15-19, 2020, with the theme Managing and Improving Water Quality in a Multijurisdictional Watershed. Visit our conference website now to take advantage of our free early registration and be automatically entered to win a number of prizes! 

We are also still accepting presentation and poster abstract submissions on a broad range of topics related to water quality in the Animas and San Juan watersheds, and ongoing Gold King Mine Spill monitoring efforts. Please submit an abstract by Friday, May 15, 2020. Visit our abstract submission page for guidelines and more information.

New Mexico Universities Produced Water Synthesis Project
by Robert Sabie, Jr., NM WRRI Research Scientist and Sam Fernald
NM WRRI Director

In January of this year, NM WRRI coordinated the launch of a project with researchers at New Mexico State University (NMSU), New Mexico Tech (NMT), and the University of New Mexico (UNM) to synthesize information on produced water science and management. This collaborative New Mexico Universities Produced Water Synthesis Project (NMUPWSP) is funded through state appropriations for a statewide water assessment. The overall goal of the project is to bring together experts in the areas of treatment technology, geochemistry, seismology, hydrogeology, policy, data management and analysis, stakeholder engagement, and system science to provide an independent understanding of the broad implications of produced water management decisions. The project is expected to continue for four years, contingent upon funding.

Oil and gas production yields the byproduct produced water, which often contains numerous chemicals both from the weathering of the geologic formation the water is in contact with and from the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. For every barrel of oil extracted, between 2 and 10 barrels of produced water also are extracted. Historically, the water was pumped back into deep saltwater disposal wells, but in recent years, advancements in treatment technologies are providing opportunities for reusing the produced water.

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Meet the Researcher

Stephanie Russo Baca, Staff Attorney & Ombudsman Program Director, Utton Transboundary Resources Center
by Jeanette Torres, NM WRRI Program Coordinator

Stephanie Russo Baca is currently the staff attorney and Ombudsman Program Director at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center located at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In both of the roles that Russo Baca fulfills, her mission is to support and represent her constituents in a fair and unbiased manner. As the Ombudsman Program Director, Stephanie guides the activities of the Joe M. Stell Ombudsman Program, which is a statewide program that provides impartial adjudication information and procedural guidance to unrepresented water right claimants in the State of New Mexico. Stephanie specified that because the Utton Center is a neutral research and public service program funded through the State of New Mexico, she is able to engage and collaborate freely with both rural and urban communities including acequia associations, county and municipal governments, non-profits, federal and state governmental entities, non-governmental organizations, and New Mexico State Legislature. Russo Baca partners with local community leaders in order to provide the best guidance and research education possible to New Mexico citizens. This approach allows her to gauge community need, and help them to evaluate their own unique situation.

Stephanie earned her BA in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Agroecology in 2007 from Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona. She received her JD in 2017 from UNM’s School of Law in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and upon graduation received the Dean’s Award for her outstanding academic performance. She takes great pride in holding both Indian Law, and Natural Resources and Environmental Law Certificates from UNM.

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NMSU Student Receives NM WRRI Student Water
Research Grant to Study Turfgrass Under
Drought Conditions
by Marcus Gay, NM WRRI Student Program Coordinator

Jackson Powers is a graduate student in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University (NMSU). In FY2020, Powers was awarded an NM WRRI Student Water Research Grant for project entitled, Herbicide Phytotoxicity Under Drought Conditions in Warm and Cool Season Turfgrass. Under the guidance of his faculty advisor, Dr. Ryan Goss, the objectives of the project are to (1) determine the severity of herbicide turfgrass phytotoxicity at differing water statuses, and (2) investigate whether these differing turfgrass water statuses effect herbicide efficacy.

In the southwest, drought is a pressing issue for turfgrass managers. Local and state governments often restrict water for non-essential uses like golf courses and athletic fields. This can result in drought stressed turfgrass on golf courses, home lawns, and other public turfgrass systems. Drought stressed turfgrass is not able to provide the common benefits of turfgrass such as increased oxygen production, ambient temperature reduction, and providing low-cost surfaces for activities that greatly improve quality of life in the southwest. Also, under drought conditions, herbicide efficacy can be reduced in turfgrass stands because the plants are not able to perform normal physiological functions. Herbicides are the primary management practice to reduce difficult weeds in turfgrass stands. As a result, it is important to determine the interaction between decreasing water applications, severity of herbicide turfgrass phytotoxicity, and identify the effect of decreasing water applications on herbicide efficacy.

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