Water problems in New Mexico (Santa Fe: credit, how much, house)

[wildmaven]

My husband and I are interested in relocating to New Mexico, yet we've been hearing some disturbing rumors that most of the larger cities are encountering major water shortages. Is this true? If so, what are the cities doing to prevent future problems?

Thanks, in advance.

[Devin Bent]

If you move to the Southwest you will not find a lot of water. New Mexico is better off than most Southwestern states because we simply much less development to compete for that water. (Of course, a lot of areas are having problems. If you really want water, move to the shores of one of the Great Lakes.)

I don't know what other cities are doing. Santa Fe City has basically done three things:

1. The city is putting in a pipeline to get some water that it has a right to, but has never used. This will allow the wells to rest and the underground water levels to rise.
2. Any developer has to demonstrate water savings in order to build. Basically this means retrofitting existing properties with low flush toilets, etc.
3. Drought resistant landscaping has simply become part of the culture. My approach -- if it comes up by itself and I like it -- I let it stay. I don't like it, then I weed it. I use river rock to stop the runoff and give the plants water. The result is a low cost xeric landscape.

[Michelle1210]

My grandma use to use a rainbarrel on the corner of her house to catch the water for her outdoor plants, how do others harvest there water?

[mortimer]

I know one person who uses a rainbarrel. I intend to get a few sooner or later.

Most people harvest their water by turning on a hose.

The place we just bought has only a few plants that need more water than is provided by rain.

[Michelle1210]

I meant the word for harvest as in collecting by other means , than the hose.

[norm]

How popular are gray water systems?

[Tim Rankin]

Originally Posted by wildmaven

...some disturbing rumors that most of the larger cities are encountering major water shortages.

I don't think we've had major shortages yet. Droughts yes, major shortages no. As a matter of fact, restrictions on water use have been more common lately in places like Southern CA & Atlanta, than Albuq.

Due to a large snowpack, river levels in the Rio Grande are supposed to be way above normal this year.

Albuq. provides financial incentives to save water, in the form of water bill credits [for high-water use lawn conversions, low flow toilets, etc.]. Just recently, the water authority issued some new reg's for water conservation that seriously pissed off developers, and now there's a big court fight brewing.

The gov had declared 2007 the Year of Water. I'm not sure what that did, but I'm assuming there was some kind of focus on our water needs.

p.s. Michelle, you gotta love that Mortimer humor.

[sjbasin]

Originally Posted by wildmaven

My husband and I are interested in relocating to New Mexico, yet we've been hearing some disturbing rumors that most of the larger cities are encountering major water shortages. Is this true? If so, what are the cities doing to prevent future problems?

Thanks, in advance.

They aren't rumors, they're facts. Water is a huge problem in New Mexico. We settled huge amounts of water rights based on what we knew of snow packs and stream flows way back in the 20's. Turns out we allocated far more surface water than we now have. Much of our urban water comes from aquifers which are being drained faster than they can recharge. ALL cities in New Mexico are struggling to keep up with the demand for water, not just the largest ones.

[Michelle1210]

Originally Posted by Tim Rankin

p.s. Michelle, you gotta love that Mortimer humor.

Oh yeah.....hahaha I get it. The hose is way to easy thou

[rruff]

Originally Posted by wildmaven

My husband and I are interested in relocating to New Mexico, yet we've been hearing some disturbing rumors that most of the larger cities are encountering major water shortages. Is this true? If so, what are the cities doing to prevent future problems?

How much water does a person need? If you don't have a big lawn to keep green, or other crops to water I wouldn't worry about it. A small family could get by quite comfortably by collecting the rain that falls on their roof if it *really* became a crisis. In reality, the worst that could happen is that the price of water goes up, so people have some incentive to conserve. I don't know of any place in the country where it has gotten worse than this... or will in the near future. There are a lot more important things to consider than water.