agua es
vida
10-YEAR water CONSERVATION
PLAN
MICHAEL JENSEN, AMIGOS BRAVOS n March this year, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (WUA) announced that it had reached its per capita water usage goal of 150 gallons per capita (person) per day (gpcd) three years early. The WUA provides water and sewer services to most of the urban area of Bernalillo County.
PART
1
Conservation As these facts were coming to light, the WUA was approved by voters in 1994. This was a controversial measure to create a water and sewer provider for most of the non-Pueblo county of Bernalillo, with the exception of some already existing private water suppliers.
BY
I
watering the
future
Despite warnings from as early as the 1930s, public officials and the building industry advertised the entire region as sitting on an underground water supply the size of Lake Superior. There was just one problem. There was no “Lake Superior” of easily accessible water and there were already signs that the available water was rapidly disappearing. The geology of the Albuquerque Basin is one of the most complex in the world. The Rio Grande is actually running through a rift valley formed by two sections of earth pulling away from each other. Sediment from the river and from mountain and mesa runoff filled the basin. However, numerous fault lines from tectonic activity fractured and shifted the underlying stratigraphy. Instead of a giant sediment basin saturated with clean water, there is a highly disconnected system that doesn’t allow easy flow of water and the sediment has contributed chemical compounds to the water from the ancient volcanic activity – things like arsenic and uranium along with a wide variety of mineral salts in deeper layers. In the early 1990s, the US Geologic Survey carried out several studies of the region’s hydrogeology (the way water moves in the system) and concluded – as some initial studies from the 1930s had concluded – that there was only a relatively small amount of drinkable (“potable”) water near the surface and that water had been seriously depleted. The reports indicated that, if nothing were done, the levels would soon have dropped so much that there would almost surely be irreversible land subsidence in large areas of the metropolitan area.
showerheads, and faucets and provided water audits and classes on conservation and penalties for overusage were increased. However, even the WUA admits – frequently – that its approach, which has relied almost exclusively on volunteer efforts of its customers, has succeeded only in getting the “low-hanging fruit”. In other words, if the WUA is going to go beyond the 150gpcd level its customers have achieved, it will take a much more focused effort, one that will almost surely have to involve more rules with stronger penalties. Getting to 150gpcd is a really impressive achievement. But the Albuquerque metropolitan region still has serious water issues.
Now that this goal has been met, the WUA is beginning a months-long process to develop a new Ten-Year Water Conservation Plan. Public input into the plan will be very important. Unsustainable Water Use The WUA was formed in 1994, when water usage in the City of Albuquerque was at 252gpcd and clearly unsustainable. All the water for the City came from pumping the aquifer.
September 2012 12
The WUA began the first of many campaigns to implement conservation measures among its customers. Water use began to drop after 1995 (251gpcd), but was still at about 225gpcd in 2000. Almost half that improvement came from 1995-96, so the rest of the decade showed little improvement from year-to-year. The 1990s saw the beginnings of the cycle of droughts residents have experienced over the last two decades and that appear to represent what many climate scientists are terming “the new normal” for New Mexico and the Southwest (and beyond). Really stunning conservation came from 2000 – 2007, when customers of the WUA lowered their gpcd from 225 to 167 or an average of 8-9 gallons per day less per person every year, even as the population as a whole was still growing. “Low-Hanging Fruit” The improvements came from a number of sources. For example, rules for new construction place a strict limit on the amount and types of landscaping; time-of-day watering restrictions were put into place; the WUA offered rebates for water efficient plumbing fixtures like toilets,
In 2009, the WUA began using water from the Rio Grande and the San Juan-Chama water from a tributary of the Colorado, which has taken pressure off the over-pumping that threatened the aquifer (levels appear to have risen the last two years). However, the river itself may not be a sustainable source of sufficient water if “the new normal” continues to keep river flows low. Furthermore, the WUA – like water providers across the country and the globe – has a tremendous problem with infrastructure in critical need of repair or replacement. The WUA director told the WUA Board that if this situation were not resolved within 20 years, there would be “system collapse”. The issue is largely one of funding. To avoid raising rates, the WUA has dramatically increased its debt ratio through bonding, which has led two credit rating agencies to lower the WUA’s bond rating, making additional bonding much less likely in the shortto medium-term. The WUA has put into place a long-term plan to pay down its debt and simultaneously deal with the infrastructure problem. It is a very ambitious plan, one that will be complicated by the campaign to set a new conservation target for the next ten years. In October: Part Two, Water Rates and the 10-Year Water Conservation Plan.
THE PLAN to avoid system
collapse!
BURQUE BIONEERS RAFFLE HELP FUND
LOCAL BIONEERS CONFERENCE
WIN
2 PASSES!
TO THE National Bioneers CONFERENCE! an $800 value! $5 each or 4 for $15. Email: burquebioneers@gmail.com Call 280-9879 or go to burquebioneers.org.
SUST 334 - Sustainability Practicum to Benefit the Campus or Community
“AN EXPLORATION OF CO-OPS AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE LOCAL ECONOMY” • Become familiar with New Mexico and world-wide co-ops. • Understand the philosophy and principles of co-ops. • Distinguish the four types of co-ops • Know the fundamentals of governance/ownership structure, business activity, etc. • Distinguish co-ops from corporations as a business model. • Become aware of co-ops in the larger international context of economy, ecology,and social justice. • Learn a but the operations of La Montanita Co-op and the local producers they support. • Research La Montanita’s Board structure and attend their committee and/or Board meetings. • Conduct a Localization Campaign (on campus and/or in the community). • Create public service announcements (PSA’s) for local goods, local purchasing and local products. CRN# 28368, SUST 334, Section 001 Tues. and Thurs. 11am-12:15pm • Mitchell Hall, Room 104 Pre-requisite: SUST 134 • Instructor: Maggie Seeley, msseeley@unm.edu
goes electronic! BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTIONS
Please give us your e-mail address to get your Board of Directors Ballot online. Go to the Info Desk at any Coop location and we will input your email address. We will not share your e-mail address or spam you! Ballots will also be available at the Info Desk at all Co-op locations. Your Vote is your Voice!