StuckyHall‐ HomeoftheNMWRRI

1. NMWRRIoverview‐ establishedinresponsetodroughtofthe1950stocoordinatewaterresearch

2. WaterscarcityinNewMexico‐negativelyimpactinglivelihoods,environmentandcommunities

3. FY2015funding– $1Monetimefundsforwaterinitiativethatwillimprovewatermanagementforeconomicdevelopmentandcommunityhealthbyhelpingplanners,agencies,stakeholders,andpolicymakers

4. FY2016request‐ $2Mwilladdwaterqualitytowaterquantityresearchforcomprehensiveimprovementinwaterinformationfornewwatersourcesandimprovedwaterplanningandpolicy

NMWRRIFY15$1Mlegislativewaterinitiativeandbasefunding

0 200,000 400,000

Base Funding

Water New MeXicoPrize

Data Acquisition

Research ApplicationsScientist

WRRI Water Assessment

Multi University WaterAssessment Team

Student Grants

Faculty Grants

WRRI Statewide Water Assessment

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Executivesummary

HistoryofNMWRRI

Establishedinresponsetodroughtof1950sinNewMexico• 1956 FirstannualNewMexicoWaterConference

Longhistoryofsupportingstatewidewaterresearch• 1963 NMWRRIestablished

Specialrelationshipwithnationwidenetworkofwaterinstitutes• 1964 WaterResourcesResearchActsetupnetworkofwaterresearchinstitutes

(oneineverystateplusthreeterritoriesandtheDistrictofColumbia;PL88‐379.2introducedbyNMSenatorClintonP.AndersonmodeledonNMWRRI)

Statewidemandate• 1966MemorandumofAgreement:establishesNMWRRIstatewidecooperationwithUNM,NMIMT,NMSU

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PurposeofNewMexicoWaterResourcesResearchInstituteasdefinedbyNewMexicoStatute21‐8‐40of2005

ThepurposesoftheInstituteareto:• Provide researchandtraining

inwaterconservation,planning,andmanagement;atmospheric‐surface‐groundwaterrelations;andwaterquality;

• Transferwaterinformationthroughtheuseoftechnicalandmiscellaneouspublications,newsletters,conferences,andpresentations;

• Provideexpertise,specializedassistance,andinformationtoaddresswaterproblems;and

• Cooperate withlocal,state,andfederalwateragencies.

Research

Training

Statewide cooperation 

Water Information

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• StudiessupportedbyNMWRRIledtodroppingofapreviousTexaslawsuitthatwouldhavecostNewMexicountoldmillionsofdollars

• ThirtyyearsofresearchsupportedbyNMWRRIhasrevealed50Macre‐feetofMesillaValleygroundwater– nowbeingstudiedfordesalinationsuitability

ResearchNMWRRIpromotesresearchtosolvewaterproblems

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Information Transfer‐ AnnualWaterConference

Premierwatermeetingeveryyear

2014Theme:Statewidewaterassessment

Attendance:Over300participantsincludingagencies,researchers,stakeholders

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StatewideCoordinationStatewideCoordination

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NMWRRIProductivity

ResearchGrants:520+researchandeducationalprojects

NewMexicoUniversityFaculty:200+researchers

StudentsTrained:2,500+universitystudentssupported

PublishedReports:400+technicalandmiscellaneousreports

Websitehttp://wrri.nmsu.edu

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WaterScarcityinNewMexico

June 5, 2014

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NewMexicoisinSevereDrought

ElephantButtestorageshowswetanddryperiods

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Historicdroughtsweremoresevere

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Withreducedsurfacewaterdeliveriesafter2002,groundwaterlevelsdrop

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Waterscarcityimpactsarewidespread

Oil and Gas – Farmers selling water for fracking

Surface supply shortages– Rio Grande Project 2013 smallest release ever

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Ranching– Destocked herds– Windmills not functioning

Urban supplies– Stretched by drought– Planning under uncertainty

Groundwater aquifers– fossil water aquifers declining– river connected aquifers not being recharged

Community water supplies– 290 at risk single well systems– 4 broken systems in 2013

Agriculture Surface43.82%

Reservoir Evap7.07%

Power Surface1.31%

Residential Surface1.07%Livestock

Surface0.08%

CommercialSurface0.09%

MiningSurface0.04%

PowerGround0.30%

Domestic Ground0.91%

Livestock Ground1.36%

Commercial Ground1.40%

Mining Ground1.49%

ResidentialGround7.04%

Agriculture Ground34.04%

Longworth, et al. 2008. New Mexico Water Use by Categories 2005. NMOSE Technical Report 52.

SurfaceWithdrawal

GroundWithdrawal

New Mexico Water Withdrawals –2005 (percent of 3,950,398 acre/ft total)

Agriculture Surface42.82%

Reservoir Evap6.87%

Power Surface1.24%

Residential Surface2.13%Livestock

Surface0.08%

CommercialSurface0.09%

MiningSurface0.04%

PowerGround0.30%

Domestic Ground0.76%

Livestock Ground0.96%

Commercial Ground1.68%

Mining Ground0.80%

Residential Ground,6.19%

Agriculture Ground35.80%

Longworth, et al. 2013. New Mexico Water Use by Categories 2010. NMOSE Technical Report 54.

New Mexico Water Withdrawals –2010 (percent of 3,815,944 acre/ft total)

GroundWithdrawal

SurfaceWithdrawal

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Ground Water Use Surface Water Use NM Annual Precipitation

Precipitation data courtesy of : PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, http://prism.oregonstate.edu, created  5 May 2014

Water use data courtesy of : 95’, 00’‐ Brian C. Wilson (NM OSE), 05’, 10’ John Longworth et al (NM OSE) accessed from http://www.ose.state.nm.us/publications_technical_reports_wateruse.html accessed on 15 May 2014 

NMStatewideWaterUseandAnnualPrecipitationNMStatewideWaterUseandAnnualPrecipitation

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Evaporation82.0 Million Acre Feet

Precipitation85.3 Million Acre Feet

Inflow2.4 Million Acre Feet

Other Losses1.1 Million Acre Feet

Outflow3.4 Million Acre Feet

Usable1.2 Million Acre Feet

NEW MEXICO MEAN ANNUAL SURFACE WATER BUDGET

Groundwater:  20 billion acre‐feet3.0 B fresh, 1.4 B slightly saline recoverable

Existingwaterbudgetsarestaticandimprecise

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Oregon:  Point flow data converted to spatial and temporal flow data

Otherwesternstates’waterassessmentstoenhancewateradministrationandplanning

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Utah:  “Water Rights estimates of diversions per well helped split out annual USGS groundwater area pumping to Water Resources subareas”

California:  Water balances with regional water uses and supplies in common platform

UpdateonFY2015LegislativeFunding

Funding(NMSURPSPinSB313)• $101Kaddedtorecurring$216K=$317Krecurringbase• $1Mone‐timewaterinitiative

ThankstoLegislatorsGovernorNMSUAdministrationStakeholdersNMUniversitiesNMWRRISupporters

WRRIstructureforfundingprojects• ProgramDevelopmentReviewBoard

– Includesrepresentativesfromresearchuniversities,stateagencies,USGS• TechnicalPeerReviewers

– Forobjectivescientificreviewofproposals• ConferenceCommittee

– TocaptureinformationneedsofstakeholdersthroughoutNewMexico• Statewidewaterassessmentteam

– Multi‐universitymulti‐agencyteamwithmechanismforstakeholderinput(19)

FY15NMWRRI$1MWaterInitiativeFY15NMWRRI$1MWaterInitiative

$ 330,000   Multi University and Agency Water Assessment

$ 235,000   WRRI Statewide Water Assessment

$   80,000   Data Acquisition

$ 150,000   Spatial Data Water Research Scientist

$ 120,000   New Mexico Faculty Water Research Seed Grants

$   60,000   University Student Water Research Grants

$   25,000   Water New MeXico Prize Business Model

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• Dynamicincludesmostuptodateandrealtimedatasets

• Comprehensiveincludeswaterinputsandoutputs

• Sciencebasedutilizinglatestscientificinformationincludingsatellitedata

• Synthesizedcomplexdatastreamsmadereadilyuseful

• Accessiblewebdeliveredwithautomationofdataretrieval

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CuttingEdgeAspectsofStatewideWaterAssessment

Statewide Water Assessment Research

Groundwater Changesfrom USGS Wells

Surface Water Changesfrom USGS Streamgages

Statewide Water Use from Office of the State Engineer

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ImplementationofStatewideWaterAssessment

1.TeamsofresearchersforcomponentsthatwillcomplementOSEandbringNewMexicouptoparwithwesternstateslikeCalifornia,Oregon,Utah,Wyoming

2.Statewidewaterassessmentsteeringcommittee3.Universityandagencycollaboration4.Stakeholderinput5. Concretedeliverables6. Bringtogetherstate‐of‐the

‐artinformationforreadyuse

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New Mexico EPSCoRConstruct spatial databases and  developdynamic, geospatial budgets for water, human, energy, environment  

Develop a Statewide Decision Simulation System 

StatewideWaterSimulationTool

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TechnicalStudiesthatComplementStatewideWaterAssessment

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FacultyWaterResearchGrantsFacultyWaterResearchGrantsProposalsreceivedinresponsetoNMWRRIFY15FacultyWaterResearchProgram

1. DoinghydrologybackwardsinNewMexicotoestimateastatewidewaterassessment(i.e.,Canadian,RioGrande,Gila,andPecosRivers);UNM

2. Soilwatersodicity asastandardtopredictinvasiveplantproblemsinNM;NMSU3. PolicyalternativesforcontrollingnitratepollutionfromNM’sdairies;UNM4. Quantifyingthevariabilityandinteractionsofstreamflow,riparianextentandET;NMTech

5. AssessmentofwatertableandwaterqualityvariationswithrespecttoriverflowalongRioGrandebetweenGarfield,NMandFabens,TX;NMSU

6. PolicyoptionstoenhancewatersupplyinsupportofrevisionoftheLowerRioGrandeWaterUsersOrganizationRegionalPlan;NMSU

7. Photon‐energizedforwardosmoticsystemforseawaterandbrackishwaterdesalination;Highlands/NMTech

8. Identificationoflawandpolicyoptionsforbestwatermanagementpractices;UNM9. Nanocrystalline cellulosereinforcedpolyamidethinfilmasROmembranes;UNM

StudentGrantRFPwillbereleasedinAugustforprojectstostartinOctober.

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ResearchNeedsAcrossNewMexicoResearchNeedsAcrossNewMexico

•EvaluatingtheCurrentColdwaterTemperatureStandardsforNewMexicotoProtectAquaticLife(NMSU,WQCC,NMED;1year;$30,000)

•WhereWilltheWaterComeFrom?AnalyzingGrassrootsPoliticalFormationsinMega‐energyDevelopmentinMora,RioArriba,SanMiguel,andLeacounties(UNM;1year;$30,000)

•WellWaterQualityStudyfortheHatchandLasCrucesAreas– StudyingtheInteractionBetweenSurfaceWater,IrrigationWaterAppliedtoCrops,andGroundwater(NMSU;1year;$30,000)

•HelpingFamilieswithoutAccesstoWater– HouseholdWaterConservationWorkshop&WaterRateAssessment(WRRI;3years;$195,000)

•ImprovingAccesstoPotableWaterwithinaTransboundary RegionalAquifer(WRRI;1year;$80,000)

•EstimatingaCriticalWaterAssessmentComponent:ETinWaterStorageReservoirsandLakesintheUpperRioGrandeBasinwithSatelliteDatafrom2000to2014(UNM;1year;$30,000)

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0 200,000 400,000

Base Funding

Water New MeXico Prize

Data Acquisition

Research Applications Scientist

WRRI Statewide Water Assessment

Multi University Water AssessmentTeam

Student Grants

Faculty Grants

WRRI’sExpansionBudgetBreakdownFY15($1M)andFY16($2M)

WRRI’sExpansionBudgetBreakdownFY15($1M)andFY16($2M)

Year 1 FY15 (1M) Year 2 FY16 (2M)

Year 1 (FY15) Year 2 (FY16)Faculty Grants 120,000 120,000Student Grants 60,000 60,000Multi University Water Assessment Team 330,000 345,000WRRI Statewide Water Assessment 235,000 245,000Research Applications Scientist 150,000 150,000Water Reuse Research 75,000Fracking Water Use Analysis for SE NM 300,000Desalination & Brackish Water Research 300,000Data Acquisition 80,000 80,000Water New MeXico Prize 25,000 125,000Total Expansion Fund Request 1,000,000 2,000,000Base Funding (Includes Policy Analyst) 319,400 519,400Total Base & Expansion Fund 1,319,400 2,319,400 (28)

0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000

Base Funding

Water New MeXico Prize

Data Acquisition

Desalination & Brackish Water Research

Fracking Water Use Analysis for SE NM

Water Reuse Research

Research Applications Scientist

WRRI Statewide Water Assessment

Multi University Water Assessment Team

Student Grants

Faculty Grants

FY16NMWRRIExpansionRequest$2M/year(contingentonRegentsapprovalasanNMSUlegislativepriority)

FY16NMWRRIExpansionRequest$2M/year(contingentonRegentsapprovalasanNMSUlegislativepriority)

$200,000 basefundingexpansionforassociatedirectorpolicyanalysttoapplywaterresearchpolicystudiestohelpsolvedroughtandwaterscarcityproblemsinNewMexicoleadingtonewpolicydirectivesbasedonscientificdataandcoreNMWRRIfacultyresearchsupport

$120,000NewMexicoFacultyWaterResearchSeedGrantsAtleastfourresearchprojectsperyearthatconfrontwaterissueswillbefundedatNMSU,UNM,andNMTech.Fundingisprimarilyforstudenttrainingandproductsincludetechnicalreports,peer‐reviewedjournalarticles,andcommunicationstowatermanagersandend‐users.

$60,000UniversityStudentWaterResearchGrantsApproximatelytwelvegrantsperyearwillfundstudentresearchatNMSU,NMTech,UNM,ENMU,NMHU,WNMU,Diné CollegeandNorthernNMCandprovideleverageforsecuringadditionalfunding.

$300,000DesalinationandBrackishWaterResearchIn‐houseresearchwillleverageBrackishGroundwaterNationalDesalinationResearchFacility(BGNDRF)federalresearchinstallationandNMSUprogramswithReclamation.

$300,000FrackingWaterUseAnalysisforSENewMexicoCriticalanalysisofwaterlevelchange,waterquality,wateruseinhydraulicfracturingareas

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FY16NMWRRIExpansionRequest$2M/year(cont.)FY16NMWRRIExpansionRequest$2M/year(cont.)

$590,000StatewideWaterAssessmentThisongoingfundingsupportsayearlystatewidewaterassessmentthataddresseswaterscarcitychallengesandimproveswaterplanningwithsynthesisofcuttingedgescientificdataandinvolveskeywaterpeople.

$75,000ResearchonWaterReuseCompletewaterqualitycomponentwithwaterreuseresearch

$80,000HydrologicDataAcquisitionandSynthesisFundswillbeusedtoacquire,process,synthesize,anddeliverdatatoassistinmakingsoundmanagementandpolicydecisions.

$150,000ResearchApplicationsScientistAllwaterusesectorsfromagriculturetourban,environmental,andindustrywillbenefitfromaregionalwaterscientistwhowillusethemostadvancedsciencetounderstandNewMexico’scomplexwatersystems.

$125,000WaterNewMeXico PrizeThisawardrecognizesexcellenceinwaterresearchandapplication.

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THANKYOU

(i)

NewMexicoWaterAssessmentComponentModels

Correlation Between Jornada Precipitationand Statewide Evapotranspiration

We are attempting to correlate precipitation within the Jornada Experimental Range (a closed basin) with evapotranspiration dataobtained from a model using MODIS satellite imagery (Senay et al., 2013). We hope to verify the model’s ability to provide precisedata as a component for a statewide water budget.

Source:  NM WRRI(ii)

Updated groundwater assessment

Figure 1. Map of the general occurrence of saline groundwater in New Mexico (Hale et al. 1965).

Up to date well data provided by EMNRD, EPA, NMED, and USGS

Source:  Jones, NM WRRI(iii)

Aquifers of New Mexico – Hydrologic Diversity

RIO GRANDE AQUIFER SYSTEM

HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER

ROSWELL BASIN AQUIFER SYSTEM

COLORADO PLATEAUS AQUIFERS

PECOS RIVERAQUIFER SYSTEM

BASIN AND RANGE AQUIFERS

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Gravity‐based groundwater change

Source:  NM WRRI(v)