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The Rio Grande way down south past Los Lunas is always dry or just about dry with only a trickle of water most of the time. I have walked across it a few times, haven't found any quicksand but have found lots of trash the 4 wheeler and off-road truck folks dump as they ride around in it. Even more odd, if you are not used to it, is all the people who run to go "ditch fishing" in the irrigation ditches that run next to the river when there is water released in them.
Use a rain barrel or maybe a bucket if you have gutters, to catch some water for outside car washing, plant watering, or other uses. Some claim that you are not allowed to catch rain water due to some taking the water right law to the extreme, but I have not heard of anyone getting arrested yet!
The Rio Grande way down south past Los Lunas is always dry or just about dry with only a trickle of water most of the time. I have walked across it a few times, haven't found any quicksand but have found lots of trash the 4 wheeler and off-road truck folks dump as they ride around in it. Even more odd, if you are not used to it, is all the people who run to go "ditch fishing" in the irrigation ditches that run next to the river when there is water released in them.
Use a rain barrel or maybe a bucket if you have gutters, to catch some water for outside car washing, plant watering, or other uses. Some claim that you are not allowed to catch rain water due to some taking the water right law to the extreme, but I have not heard of anyone getting arrested yet!
I believe you can catch all the water you want as long as it's falling on your property, not flowing across it.
So rain barrels to capture water from your roof is fine. Diverting from the arroyo that flows through your property is not.
A friend wrote me and told me the snowpack and precipitation in northern NM is way below even average for this time of year and that it doesn't speak well for spring/summer fire events, or for the possibility of the Chama scenic train even being open for the summer. That's pretty dry. So hope there's a big change for all concerned.
This is all very sad for me to read as a person whose goal for the past 25 years is to move to new mexico. I am finally able to settle there along with my daughter and her fiance. Now I am worried in 20 yrs things would fall.apart. reallllyyyyy wish there was some positive news but its the times. At the coast desal will become a necessity. Are the states north of you doing well water wise I hear the pac nw is above average.
Do you know how their drought categories are defined? Like what is the baseline and how far back do they look? Spring (til July) is dry every year in NM. Ruidoso's precipitation level has been normal or above the last couple years even with low winter precipitation. We've made up for it in the summer.
Thats also what I was curious about. I figured desert is desert its going to be dry. And I know climate change is Very real. But I am wondering how different this is to other times years back when there was also drought. Lol maybe I am just fighting to keep the dream alive but that is something I would like to hear about ;-)
But I am wondering how different this is to other times years back when there was also drought.
Two words: POPULATION GROWTH!
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