New Mexico Water eNews

UNM Student Awarded an NM WRRI Student Water Research Grant to Study Reactivity of Microplastics with Heavy Metals
by Marcus Gay, NM WRRI Student Program Coordinator

In New Mexico, freshwater systems near abandoned mines have heavy metal concentrations above acceptable Environmental Protection Agency contaminant levels. Microplastics (plastic materials with a diameter <5 mm) can be introduced into these same freshwater systems by solid waste dumping, recreational activities, or wastewater treatment effluents. If microplastics are introduced into freshwater that is already contaminated with heavy metals, the interaction between these contaminants can enhance toxic effects.

The potential increased toxicity in aquatic ecosystems could be harmful to living organisms. Therefore, in order to assess the reactivity of microplastics with heavy metals, Jasmine Anne Quiambao, a graduate student in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department at The University of New Mexico, has been awarded an NM WRRI Student Water Research Grant entitled, Evaluation of Heavy Metal Adsorption onto Microplastics. Quiambao and her faculty sponsors, Dr. Jorge Gonzalez Estrella and Dr. Kerry Howe, are working on a project with two main tasks: first, to investigate the occurrence of microplastics in freshwater systems containing elevated concentrations of heavy metals; and second, to investigate the adsorption of heavy metals onto microplastics in laboratory experiments. Dr. Kerry Howe has been featured as this month’s Meet the Researcher, and a link to his interview can be found here. The project will analyze samples that have been taken from freshwater systems close to abandoned mines, ponds used for recreational activities, and the Rio Grande. Quiambao and her team will then evaluate the adsorption of arsenic and uranium onto microplastics.

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Meet the Researcher

Kerry Howe, Director of the Center for Water and the Environment, and Professor, The University of New Mexico
by Jeanette Torres, NM WRRI Program Coordinator

For this month’s Meet the Researcher, we had the opportunity to interview Kerry Howe, Director of the Center for Water and the Environment (2013), and Professor (2015) at The University of New Mexico (UNM) located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Kerry has taught nine different courses at UNM for the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, and currently offers courses on physical/chemical water treatment processes and sustainable engineering. The latter provides students the opportunity to learn about identifying, quantifying, managing, and reducing the environmental impacts caused by modern society.

Howe has advised over 40 graduate students during his UNM career. He has mentored students funded by the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (NM WRRI) in the past, and is currently advising Jasmine Anne Quiambao, a student who was awarded an NM WRRI Student Water Research Grant for her project entitled, Evaluation of Heavy Metal Adsorption onto Microplastics. According to Howe, this project investigates the impact of microplastics in the environment and the ability of microplastics to be a vehicle for other types of environmental contamination, particularly toxic metals like arsenic and uranium, which can adsorb to microplastic surfaces. This student researcher’s study has also been featured this month, and can be found here.

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NM WRRI Publishes Technical Completion Report
by Carolina Mijares, NM WRRI Program Manager

NM WRRI announces the publication of technical completion report no. 387, a joint publication with the Bureau of Reclamation and its Desalination and Water Purification Research Development Program (Report No. NMSU004). In 2016, New Mexico State University (NMSU) faculty member Dr. Sarada Kuravi received funding through a cooperative agreement between Reclamation and NMSU. The cooperative agreement is a collaborative project that aims to increase scientific knowledge and research expertise in the area of alternative waters for water supply sustainability in New Mexico and the western U.S.

Low-Cost, Low-Energy Concentrate Water Desalination Using Heat Recuperative Solar Still with Concentrating Solar Technology by Dr. Sarada Kuravi et al. investigated new solar collection and heat transport approaches to improve the productivity of a solar still. Dr. Kuravi et al. state the results of this project will be useful for novel thermal desalination systems design.

The outcome of this project resulted in an award by the Bureau of Reclamation for a new proposal entitled, Enhanced Solar Desalination Using Innovative Approaches for Concentrate Treatment, where the potential of each technique discussed in technical completion report no. 387 will be scaled-up and the combined efficiency at a larger scale will be demonstrated.

NM WRRI Hosts Virtual 65th Annual New Mexico Water Conference
by Mark Sheely, NM WRRI Program Coordinator

In a first for the 65 years of the Annual New Mexico Water Conference, more than 500 people from across the state, country, and the globe gathered in front of their computer screens for the NM WRRI’s first virtual annual New Mexico Water Conference, held October 26-29, 2020. With a conference theme of Meeting New Mexico’s Pressing Water Needs: Challenges, Successes, and Opportunities, water researchers, government officials, tribal leaders, and others shared their perspectives and expertise on the latest water research and management topics facing New Mexico. Presentation slides linked by agenda item can be viewed here. Recorded video from all three days of the general conference webinar organized by session can be viewed in a YouTube playlist here.

From the opening remarks delivered by NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu and opening keynote address by U.S. Senator Tom Udall through three days of discussions and presentations, two technical poster sessions, and a host of questions and answers, conference participants were eager to take up the challenges, successes, and opportunities related to meeting New Mexico’s pressing water needs. The looming effects of environmental challenges such as the current drought and continued regional aridification highlighted some of the largest areas of concern for water managers and researchers. Presenters also spoke on legal challenges including water deliveries on the Rio Grande, as well as social and political challenges in access to water for rural communities, particularly tribes in New Mexico. Showcasing successes throughout the state offered conference participants guidance in water research and management. The pre-conference field trip on the San Juan‑Chama Project Headwaters tour showed extensive work in upland water treatment, while a later presentation on the Rio Grande Water Fund highlighted efforts to protect our water supply from the devastating effects of wildfire. The opportunities for water research and planning in New Mexico included presentations on the 50-Year Water Plan that the state will be moving forward on soon, and at the federal level, studies of both the Rio Grande and the Pecos River basins. Finally, the opportunities for produced water research were explored extensively during the final conference session. Overall, the conference revealed that the state faces great challenges, but at the same time many water managers, researchers, and policymakers are working to build on successes and continue to understand and manage the state’s water resources into the future.

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