Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Agriculture In A Water Scarce World, Allison Roberts, Amjad Assi, Bassel Daher, Men Li

Student Papers in Public Policy

According to the McKinsey report (2009), the world is facing a water scarcity challenge where agriculture is its predominant consumer. It accounts for approximately 3100 billion m³, or 71 percent of global water withdrawals today, and is expected to increase to 4500 billion m³ by 2030. This increase is due to a number of factors: growing population and the ever growing necessity to cater for its food needs, economic growth, the variability of precipitation trends and increase in global temperatures. In addition to the increase in water scarcity, the agricultural sector faces an enormous challenge of producing …

Ocean Sustainability, Logan Levan, Joshua Millea, Woo Choi, Mark Powell, David Flint

Student Papers in Public Policy

Oceans cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface area. They provide more than 90% of the world’s oxygen production, account for 200 billion pounds of food each year, regulate the global climate, and are the primary mode of global shipping traffic (“www.marinebio.org”). With such social, economic, and environmental value, there is a clear need to enact sustainable policies and practices concerning marine zones.

American Indian Water Rights, Michael Osborn, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

Pueblos and tribal reservations are located within most of the larger stream systems in New Mexico. Each has claims to rights to use the water in its stream. In New Mexico, Indian rights are significant because of their early priority dates, because of the large amounts of water rights claimed, or both. In some instances, such claims have the potential to displace a significant number of junior water rights.

Common law theories or doctrines pertaining to Indians continue to be judicially refined and to evolve so that discussing the nature and extent of “Indian water rights” is a complex topic.

State And Regional Water Planning, Brigette Buynak, Susan Kelly, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

A statewide water planning effort was initiated by the New Mexico legislature in the 2003 session. The Interstate Stream Commission (ISC),in collaboration with the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) and the Water Trust Board, was tasked with preparing and implementing a comprehensive state water plan. Regional water planning had begun much earlier, prompted by a lawsuit that El Paso filed against New Mexico in 1983, El Paso v. Reynolds.

The State Water Plan Act of 2003 (Act) was intended to promote stewardship of the state’s water resources and to establish clear policies and strategies for management of the state’s …

Groundwater, Darcy S. Bushnell, Diego Urbina

Water Matters!

Since the late nineteenth century, New Mexicans have been developing the state’s groundwater resources. From hand-dug wells to proposed wells that could penetrate to 12,000 feet, residents have sought sources to supplement and replace surface water. The state relies upon groundwater to supply almost 50 percent of its needs.

As the population grows and drought intensifies, groundwater sources are tapped with increasing urgency. Limited steps are being taken to preserve groundwater through conservation, groundwater recharge, and regulation.

Deep Water Regulation, Paul Bossert, Kari Olson

Water Matters!

With most of the surface water in New Mexico fully appropriated and with groundwater sources being drawn down and becoming less reliable, the search for new sources of water is reaching further and further afield of traditional sources and methods. Water wells deeper than 2,000 feet have been rare due to the expense of deep drilling and the uncertainty of finding potable water. Yet the combined circumstances of advances in hydrology and the escalating demand for new water have driven the search for water deeper than was previously considered practical.

Community Water Systems, Joanne Hilton, Susan Kelly, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

Apart from the major cities along the Rio Grande corridor, much of New Mexico remains relatively rural. Recent studies estimate a 2013population of around 2,085,500 statewide. In the state fiscal year 2011,about 1,836,000 people, or 88 percent of New Mexico’s population obtain their water from community water systems. Approximately 284,000 people, or about14 percent of the population, receive their drinking water from community water systems serving fewer than 5,000 people. As of 2012, there are 1,148 public water systems that provide drinking water in New Mexico. Of these systems, 593are community water systems; of these, 546 serve fewer than 5,000 …

Water Marketing, Jeremy Oat, Laura Paskus

Water Matters!

Water doesn’t just flow around New Mexico in streams and rivers: it also moves around on paper. Since all of the state’s surface-water and most of its groundwater have already been allocated, the only way for cities, developers, or conservation organizations to find new water supplies is to buy and transfer water rights from old uses and places to new uses and places. The N.M. Office of the State Engineer (OSE) approves each of these transfers, most of which are relatively small, but the numbers can add up over time. Between 1982 and 2011, for instance, 21,000 acre-feet of Middle …

Water Litigation In The Lower Rio Grande, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

The water allocation issues are hotly contested in south-central New Mexico and the surrounding area. Today, the river and those who depend on it face more administrative challenges in the face of shrinking water supplies and increased population. These challenges have given rise to two ongoing lawsuits: the Lower Rio Grande Adjudication,New Mexico v. EBID, et al., 96-CV-888 (1996) (N.M. v. EBID) in the New Mexico Third Judicial District Court (adjudication court) and the New Mexico v. United States,et al., D.N.M. 11-CV-691 (2011) (N.M. v.U.S.) in United States District Court of New Mexico (U.S. District Court).

The Rio Grande As An International River, Margaret J. Vick

Water Matters!

The Rio Grande is divided into two major river reaches and has different legal regimes for each. New Mexico is primarily concerned with the Rio Grande from the headwaters in Colorado to Ft. Quitman in Texas, a distance of approximately 670 miles. This section of the river is the subject of the1906 Rio Grande Convention (Treaty) between the United States and Mexico. The lower section of the Rio Grande from Ft. Quitman to the Gulf of Mexico is the subject of the 1944 Rivers Treaty between the United States and Mexico; the 1944 Rivers Treaty also includes the Colorado and …

Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System (Ute Pipeline Project), Jerold Widdison, Paul Van Gulick, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

The Ute Pipeline Project (Project), officially known as the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System (ENMRWS),is a 151-mile-long pipeline project to provide a sustainable municipal and industrial water supply for several eastern New Mexico communities and a military base. The Congress authorized major federal funding for the Ute Pipeline in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. This important milestone for the project was reached after about 45 years of effort.Attention now shifts to myriad details involved in actually constructing, financing,and administering the project.

Volatilization Of Benzene In A River, Eric Dunlop

Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two

Benzene is a volatile organic compound: when it contaminates a river, some of the substance will evaporate as it flows through. We examine the volumetric flow rate to find how volatilization affects the concentration levels of benzene as the substance flows through several consecutive sections of a river, using a specific example to illustrate the general method.

Study Of Dieldrin In Coralville Reservoir, Jeremy Smith

Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two

Using existing experimental data taken over a period of roughly 12 years that documents the concentrations of dieldrin levels in the environment and fatty tissue of the fish, we construct a model of the total dieldrin concentration decline. Comparisons between the experimental data and speculative data can be made using calculus and elements of statistics in order to better understand the movement of dieldrin in the reservoir. Because of the potentially harmful exposure effects of dieldrin to humans as well as the environment, it is important to be able to predict when stability has been restored to the ecosystem.

Acequias, Brigette Buynak, Jerold Widdison, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

Acequias are community irrigation systems in the villages and pueblos of New Mexico. They have deep roots in two ancient traditions—Pueblo Indian and Spanish. The Pueblos collected and shared water for centuries before the arrival of Spanish colonists in 1598. The Spanish settlers brought technical knowledge and institutional frameworks for governing irrigation systems, which originated in the Moors’ seven-century occupation of Spain. Both traditions remain important to an understanding of New Mexico’s acequia heritage and the continuing relevance of these “water democracies.”Today, these traditions must meld with state law as the legislature has provided that acequias are “political subdivisions” or …

Water Quality Regulation, Joanne Hilton, Susan Kelly, James Hogan, Kimberly Kirby, Jerry Schoeppner

Water Matters!

While many of the water issues in New Mexico center around having an adequate supply of water, the quality of the water is just as important as the quantity in supplying water for drinking and other uses that rely on clean water. Protecting water quality is financially more feasible than conducting expensive cleanup programs. New Mexico has a strong interest in water quality regulation to protect public health and the environment and to minimize expenditures for mitigation of contaminated supplies. Water quality is a difficult subject to navigate; there is a complex web of statutes and agency involvement. This paper …

Short-Term Denitrification In The Metalimnion Of A Eutrophic Reservoir, Aki Kogo, Erin M. Grantz, Thad Scott

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Denitrification in metalimnetic water was examined under different conditions to determine how addition of nitrate (NO3 -) and particulate carbon (PC), aeration, and concentrations of nitrate affect denitrification. In the first experiment, water samples from a metalimnion were treated with different combinations of NO3 - and PC. Changes in excess N2 -N concentration for 10 days were measured using membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS). The second experiment used the same treatments as the first experiment after aeration of water. Besides excess N2 -N concentrations, O2 concentrations were measured for 16 days. The third experiment examined how different initial concentrations of …

Delineation And Characterization Of The Furnace Brook Watershed In Marshfield, Massachusetts: Potential Impact Of Water Supply Extraction, Erik Croll

Undergraduate Review

The Furnace Brook watershed in Marshfield, Massachusetts supplies a coastal community of 25,132 residents with nearly 45% of its town water supply (Marshfield 2012a). As in many other coastal communities, development pressure in Marshfield has increased in recent years, creating a growing demand for freshwater extraction. It has been observed, however, that portions of the stream and Furnace Pond disappear entirely at certain times of year, generally between June and August, depending on the rate of groundwater extraction. This has created a conflict between protecting the designated wetland areas and meeting public pressure for water resources, even within what is …