Segarra, C. (2022, August 11). In New Mexico, there’s not enough water for everyone. krqe.com. https://www.krqe.com/plus/data-reporting/in-new-mexico-theres-not-enough-water-for-everyone/
The Rio Grande provides water to Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, about 6 million people. However due to climate change and rising populations, it is quickly becoming clear that it is no longer a reliable source. In New Mexico, 76% of water goes to agriculture, though that’s not to say that farmers have a surplus of water. Multiple conservation efforts have started in New Mexico in recent years, making water usage in cities and agriculture more efficient. Even with these efforts and flips between groundwater and surface water being used, New Mexico and the rest of states sharing from the Rio Grande have to make some fundamental changes to continue to survive.
Even with water rights being correctly handled and conservation efforts in place, it’s not always enough to meaningfully combat climate change. Although this can be discouraging, our need for water isn’t going anywhere, which is why it’s so important to continue to study the natural world to find sustainable solutions. When doing this, it’s especially important to make sure one area is not being disproportionately affected by restrictions.
I agree with you. However, since we are always in need of water, does that mean we are doing something wrong? If we are always in need of water, we do need to find other ways to get water, but maybe that means reducing production. Reducing the production of things could definitely be harmful to the economy. and the people, but maybe that’s something we need to do. If we continue to take so much water, we will have none left. Do you think we need more water restrictions or take a more extreme route, so we don’t have this problem anymore?
I don’t think this means that we are doing something wrong since lots of areas don’t have rules on conserving water, just simply that climate change is moving at a faster rate than we can combat sometimes.
I also agree with you, but I recognize the need for the Rio Grande to provide water for farming as food production is a necessity for human survival. Is there a way where we can segregate a certain section of water in the river to only be used for a set amount of agriculture, the rest for fresh water purposes, and the other part completely untouched?
If there was enough water to go around, this would be a great strategy, but there isn’t enough water in the Rio Grande for all of these things to function properly which is where is problems start.