If you want the story behind this post, you can read two of my earlier posts from November 2008 and August 2008. Here is a 23 November 2008 article from the Albuquerque Journal (you will have to view an ad).
This guest post is by longtime friend and former colleague Dr. Bruce M. Thomson, Regents' Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Water Resources Program at the University of New Mexico. Bruce is an astute observer of New Mexico and Southwest USA water issues. He gave two excellent presentations at the recent International Conference on Nonrenewable Ground Water Resources.
An abridged version of this will likely appear as an Op-Ed piece in the Albuquerque Journal.
You can post comments to the blog.
By the way, Bruce is right on target.
Deep Brackish Groundwater: Sustainable Water Supply or Delayed Disaster?
Bruce M. Thomson, University of New Mexico
By now it should be clear to anyone who’s paying the least bit of attention that water resources in the State of New Mexico, and indeed in virtually all states west of the Mississippi, are severely over allocated. State water managers are trying to squeeze every last drop out of our hydrologic system to meet delivery obligations to our neighbors under the various interstate compacts. Prominent legal battles are in the news regarding water supply for endangered species and water rights ownership between Native American Pueblos and northern New Mexico communities. We read about proposals to tap questionable water resources in closed basins and pipe it to the Rio Grande.
Or divert water from the Canadian River at Ute reservoir, pump it up over 1,000 ft hills, and pipe it to thirsty communities on the southeastern plains.
Yet our state continues to grow. Population in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Valencia counties, currently just under one million people, is projected to grow to 1.4 million by 2040. New golf courses appear with alarming regularity along the middle Rio Grande corridor. And the State Engineer issues roughly 7,000 new permits every year for private wells and associated water rights.
Against this background of water demand is the realization that our state’s water resources are not only limited, but they likely will decrease in the future as a result of climate change. The result of this increased demand is that communities are willing to pay more for their water. The price of the best water rights in northern NM has increased fivefold in the last 10 years, and yet buyers are still looking for more.
At the same time we see increased demand for our water, the water industry has achieved remarkable success at developing better treatment technologies that offer greatly improved performance and commensurate reductions in cost. These include improvements in desalination technologies which has led to installed global desalination capacity doubling in the past 10 years.
This convergence of increased willingness to pay for water and improvements in treatment technologies has led many communities and developers in NM to consider saline or brackish ground water supplies. The interest in deep brackish water as a source of municipal supply in NM is heightened because current law states that the State Engineer does not have jurisdiction over non-potable water in aquifers deeper than 2,500 ft. As a result, some water managers and developers consider deep brackish water to be “new” water; water that the state does not control and of uncertain ownership. A recent article in the Albuquerque Journal quoted one developer as saying “They’re sitting on a gold mine” in reference to Sandoval County’s deep brackish ground water resources.
But before we allow development of this resource the residents of the state of New Mexico need to understand a little bit about this resource and the consequences of its development.
Most importantly, we must acknowledge that, with few exceptions, deep brackish groundwater supplies are not sustainable. Generally these aquifers contain water that was trapped in place by geologic events that occurred hundreds of thousands of years ago or longer. They receive little or no recharge from surface water sources such as infiltration from rainfall or percolation from streams and river. In fact, if they are hydraulically connected to shallow aquifers or streams and rivers, they fall under the authority of the State Engineer.
Humans have relied upon non-sustainable resources since the earliest civilizations began mining gold, copper, iron and other minerals. In the last 200 years we’ve become addicted to non-renewable coal, oil and gas. Thus, an argument can be made that deep brackish ground water is simply another example of a non-renewable mineral resource. However, there is a huge difference between water and these other minerals – water is essential for life - there is no substitute. We accept growth in energy demand with the recognition that there are alternate energy sources such as nuclear, wind or solar. They may be costly, but they are viable alternatives. But a community cannot exist without water.
The most recent estimate is that the deep brackish ground water resources in Sandoval county will support a population of 300,000 for 100 years. What happens then? Do proponents of this development think that the demand for water elsewhere in the state will have decreased so that other water sources will be available? That the Cities of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Rio Rancho won’t have also grown? That irrigated agriculture will no longer need river water for their crops? Or perhaps that scientists and engineers will develop magic technologies to create water from nothing using only renewable energy sources, a sort of modern alchemy in which the goal is to create water instead of gold.
100 years is a long time, but because there is no alternative, I believe that a 100 year planning horizon is too short for any municipal development that is dependent on water supply. For these projects we must require sustainability; it must assure that water is available for future generations. Forever.
Though we cannot depend on deep brackish sources as our sole source of supply, we should recognize that they are in fact a valuable resource and can play an important role in the growth of our communities. Their most obvious value is as a source of water during periods of drought. In this scenario, deep brackish sources would provide water during dry years and be replenished during wet years. In this case the valuable commodity is not the water so much as the secure storage provided by the deep, porous geologic formation. A second use might be as a source of minerals such as gypsum for wallboard, salt for industrial or food applications, or trace minerals such as uranium or vanadium for energy or material uses. Brackish water would be pumped to the surface, the minerals recovered, and the water returned to the formation. In both strategies the water resource is preserved not consumed.
Where do we go from here? First, we need to establish a dialog that includes water managers, the development community, water scientists and engineers, and the public regarding the management of these resources. We are only going to have one chance to manage this resource and we must do it openly and with full participation by all.
More immediately, the state legislature needs to give the State Engineer authority over all water resources in the state, including deep brackish ground waters. Responsible planning cannot proceed without it. Furthermore, under the current situation nobody knows who owns the deep brackish water – the land owner? the owner of the mineral rights? the first person to tap into it? I suspect development companies and governments are already hiring lawyers to address ownership issues.
In May the Albuquerque Journal published profiles of candidates running for state offices. They were asked “should the State Engineer have authority over drilling deep wells for brackish water?” 71% said yes, 18% said no, and the rest gave evasive answers. This suggests pretty strong support. Yet, in the past, legislation to establish this authority has failed. The State Engineer needs this authority, and needs it now. Without it chaos will prevail.
Finally, we must insist that water dependent development in NM be sustainable. We may allow communities to tap into non-sustainable supplies such as deep brackish water for short periods, but ultimately, every municipal or housing development requiring water must include a credible plan describing how it will provide water forever.
Finally, we must recognize that it’s not “new” water, it’s old water. Very old water.
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