Program
Water Resources Program
College
Arts and Sciences
Student Level
Master's
Location
PAÍS Building
Start Date
10-11-2022 11:00 AM
End Date
10-11-2022 1:00 PM
Abstract
As a southwestern state, New Mexico is no stranger to high temperatures and low rates of precipitation. Agricultural water users in the Middle Rio Grande region have successfully designed and cultivated farmland since time immemorial using techniques adapted for this arid environment. Yet, global climate change has shifted a once reliable pattern of precipitation, so that snowmelt begins earlier, and the annual monsoon is exchanged for intense and sporadic rain events. Securing water resources to meet the needs of inhabitants of the Middle Rio Grande region is at the forefront of agricultural users, water managers, and policy makers' minds. This is evident when we consider large-scale projects such as the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project, and small-scale innovations in water conservation that farmers are implementing on their lands. Through interviews with agricultural water users, water managers, and individuals knowledgeable on the topic of water resources in the Middle Rio Grande region, our research team has documented various innovations in water management collaborations and experimental techniques within agriculture, while also identifying gaps in the current system. Combining this feedback with information gained by firsthand experience of the New Mexico Water & Infrastructure Task Force process, I identified one core piece of the puzzle that this region could benefit from: an increase of capacity at the local level. Implementation of water-saving techniques on farms requires that we combat the drought of accessibility to much needed financial, technical, and process-oriented information. This can be accomplished by the creation of an organization focused solely on helping agricultural water users find available funding sources, and then guiding them through the process of applying for and securing this much needed financial aid.
Continuing New Mexican agricultural customs: A proposal to combat the drought of accessibility in the Middle Rio Grande region
PAÍS Building
As a southwestern state, New Mexico is no stranger to high temperatures and low rates of precipitation. Agricultural water users in the Middle Rio Grande region have successfully designed and cultivated farmland since time immemorial using techniques adapted for this arid environment. Yet, global climate change has shifted a once reliable pattern of precipitation, so that snowmelt begins earlier, and the annual monsoon is exchanged for intense and sporadic rain events. Securing water resources to meet the needs of inhabitants of the Middle Rio Grande region is at the forefront of agricultural users, water managers, and policy makers' minds. This is evident when we consider large-scale projects such as the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project, and small-scale innovations in water conservation that farmers are implementing on their lands. Through interviews with agricultural water users, water managers, and individuals knowledgeable on the topic of water resources in the Middle Rio Grande region, our research team has documented various innovations in water management collaborations and experimental techniques within agriculture, while also identifying gaps in the current system. Combining this feedback with information gained by firsthand experience of the New Mexico Water & Infrastructure Task Force process, I identified one core piece of the puzzle that this region could benefit from: an increase of capacity at the local level. Implementation of water-saving techniques on farms requires that we combat the drought of accessibility to much needed financial, technical, and process-oriented information. This can be accomplished by the creation of an organization focused solely on helping agricultural water users find available funding sources, and then guiding them through the process of applying for and securing this much needed financial aid.
