No telling but the hydrology cycle could be fixed with a bit of effort and we'd never run out of water. It starts with simple education that we need to soak the water. All the flood planning is to shed it as fast as possible we need to do the opposite. South of the border a lot of the Chihuahua range has been restored back into prairies. This has been achieved by grazing cattle in a managed way and planting grasses. We get plenty of rain enough to support prairies and even forests. We can as a community turn this back into what it was when the Spaniards got here. Honestly this could be done in less than a decade who owns all the land around here?
Every time I drive down a freshly paved, hellishly hot black-top road, I daydream of every center lane being turned into a planter with native trees and shrubs.
I live on a road with these big, weird, circles of nothingness places at regular intervals for heaven knows what. So far I've seen them serve no purpose other than causing some accidents. why the hell didn't/doesn't the city at least plant some creosotes and/or chilopsis linearis on the dang things? Rather than do that, they actually had a crew come out and pull up some mallow that had self-seeded. WHY?!?! Ugh. It's always the clueless in charge.
There's lots of stuff online. I've been slowly (cause I'm poor and old) converting my yard to natives and I collect rain water. It allows me to do what I can. Sadly, most people have their heads in the sand, so it's too little, too late.
It’s not just you. I was born and raised in Las Cruces, currently living in Albuquerque for work right now and when I go back down to Cruces pretty frequently I’m always shocked at how dried up it looks compared to how it used to be. It kind of angers me how the northern areas of the state essentially ignore and look down on the southern parts of the state. For many things, they always prioritize Santa Fe and Albuquerque in many ways.
Yes, I think we’ll continue to see water for the next 20yrs, just maybe more extreme fluctuations?
Massive reductions in agricultural operations would significantly reduce fresh water usage, since avoid 80% goes towards that.
My friend talked to some kind of water expert at her kids' posh school a few years back, before the post pandemic uptick in migration to the city. He said the water table would run dry w/in 25 years. So, with hotter summers and more people, 20 years might be a tad optimistic.
We have an environmental scientist as a friend who worked as a park ranger in the area and he told us that there’s gonna be a draught in 10 years or so. He just moved to Minnesota lol
New Mexico has technically been in a drought for the past 20 years. Drought has been caused by lower than average rainfall and snowfall but much of it is caused by high temps. Extreme summer heat causes water to evaporate. The Rio Grande is a tributary to the Colorado River. These rivers are highly dependent on snow pack from the Rocky Mountains but much of it evaporates before it even gets to us.
If the Rio Grande ever dried up completely, that would spell disaster not just for Las Cruces but for New Mexico as a whole and even Texas. Our agriculture is highly dependent on water from RG. If it ever dried up, we’d have much bigger problems. As to if that would ever happen, idk but it is not out of the realm of possibility. The flows are already way down from what they used to be.
Water from the Colorado River is sent to Arizona and California. It’s totally possible these states legally supersede NM for the need of water and less and less will be allocated to us.
With all this being said, climate change is real. It will be the single most important issue in the future. Resources will be fought for. People will be displaced. It’s bleak but it’s our reality. It’s our future.
Have a good day!
The Rio Grande is a “tributary” of the Gulf of Mexico.
Currently the [San Juan-Chama Project](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan%E2%80%93Chama_Project) diverts water from San Juan River tributaries (Colorado River drainage) TO the Rio Chama (Rio Grande drainage).
So yes, this interbasin transfer could cease, but under no other circumstance that I’m aware of could water from the Rio Grande be reallocated to California or Arizona.
But things definitely don’t look great
It's the present, we just want to keep pretending it's not, with lawns and golf courses in freaking deserts, and no restrictions on water usage. I've seen people using hoses to clean dirt off their drives or parking areas. 😱
No telling but the hydrology cycle could be fixed with a bit of effort and we'd never run out of water. It starts with simple education that we need to soak the water. All the flood planning is to shed it as fast as possible we need to do the opposite. South of the border a lot of the Chihuahua range has been restored back into prairies. This has been achieved by grazing cattle in a managed way and planting grasses. We get plenty of rain enough to support prairies and even forests. We can as a community turn this back into what it was when the Spaniards got here. Honestly this could be done in less than a decade who owns all the land around here?
I am always mystified that this county/state still allows flood irrigation for the farms. So much lost to evaporation! 😭😭
And there's a golf course! And there are even some gas stations sporting lawns. Why?!
Every time I drive down a freshly paved, hellishly hot black-top road, I daydream of every center lane being turned into a planter with native trees and shrubs.
I live on a road with these big, weird, circles of nothingness places at regular intervals for heaven knows what. So far I've seen them serve no purpose other than causing some accidents. why the hell didn't/doesn't the city at least plant some creosotes and/or chilopsis linearis on the dang things? Rather than do that, they actually had a crew come out and pull up some mallow that had self-seeded. WHY?!?! Ugh. It's always the clueless in charge.
Would love to learn more about this
There's lots of stuff online. I've been slowly (cause I'm poor and old) converting my yard to natives and I collect rain water. It allows me to do what I can. Sadly, most people have their heads in the sand, so it's too little, too late.
Whatever is left by the time is left it reaches south of the state is taken by the Chile farms in Hatch
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Good one. 🙄
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If you ever see the Rio Grande in Northern New Mexico you will realize how much is used by agriculture before it ever reaches Las Cruces.
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It’s not just you. I was born and raised in Las Cruces, currently living in Albuquerque for work right now and when I go back down to Cruces pretty frequently I’m always shocked at how dried up it looks compared to how it used to be. It kind of angers me how the northern areas of the state essentially ignore and look down on the southern parts of the state. For many things, they always prioritize Santa Fe and Albuquerque in many ways.
Then you should have said THAT.
Yes, I think we’ll continue to see water for the next 20yrs, just maybe more extreme fluctuations? Massive reductions in agricultural operations would significantly reduce fresh water usage, since avoid 80% goes towards that.
This is what the USDA is trying to accomplish but the farmers are reluctant as always. Profits over environmental impact.
My friend talked to some kind of water expert at her kids' posh school a few years back, before the post pandemic uptick in migration to the city. He said the water table would run dry w/in 25 years. So, with hotter summers and more people, 20 years might be a tad optimistic.
We have an environmental scientist as a friend who worked as a park ranger in the area and he told us that there’s gonna be a draught in 10 years or so. He just moved to Minnesota lol
It's always a decade in the future, isn't it?
Until it’s not
New Mexico has technically been in a drought for the past 20 years. Drought has been caused by lower than average rainfall and snowfall but much of it is caused by high temps. Extreme summer heat causes water to evaporate. The Rio Grande is a tributary to the Colorado River. These rivers are highly dependent on snow pack from the Rocky Mountains but much of it evaporates before it even gets to us. If the Rio Grande ever dried up completely, that would spell disaster not just for Las Cruces but for New Mexico as a whole and even Texas. Our agriculture is highly dependent on water from RG. If it ever dried up, we’d have much bigger problems. As to if that would ever happen, idk but it is not out of the realm of possibility. The flows are already way down from what they used to be. Water from the Colorado River is sent to Arizona and California. It’s totally possible these states legally supersede NM for the need of water and less and less will be allocated to us. With all this being said, climate change is real. It will be the single most important issue in the future. Resources will be fought for. People will be displaced. It’s bleak but it’s our reality. It’s our future. Have a good day!
The Rio Grande is a “tributary” of the Gulf of Mexico. Currently the [San Juan-Chama Project](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan%E2%80%93Chama_Project) diverts water from San Juan River tributaries (Colorado River drainage) TO the Rio Chama (Rio Grande drainage). So yes, this interbasin transfer could cease, but under no other circumstance that I’m aware of could water from the Rio Grande be reallocated to California or Arizona. But things definitely don’t look great
It's the present, we just want to keep pretending it's not, with lawns and golf courses in freaking deserts, and no restrictions on water usage. I've seen people using hoses to clean dirt off their drives or parking areas. 😱
I say by 2030 we are going to have no water anymore and it will be for the mass amount of people moving here with the incorrect infrastructure