Officials grapple with limited water

August 15, 2001
By Christopher Schurtz
Las Cruces Sun-News

Debated and fought over for decades, the complex issues surrounding water rights in the Texas, New Mexico and Mexico region are far from being resolved.

And the rapid population growth of the region will likely exacerbate tensions over water rights in the coming years if a more coordinated effort at settlement is not made.

This is one sentiment agreed on by a panel of area water experts Tuesday during a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at New Mexico State University, hosted by committee chairman Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.

Bingaman said the population of the region, according to the most recent census figures, has grown at a rate exceeding other areas of the country.

Combined with an already scarce supply of clean, available water in most areas in the region, he said, the increased demand that will come with the population boom will further strain the water supply.

"This growth not only increases the demand for water, but also changes how and when the available water supply is used," Bingaman said.

Several of the hearing's participants said growing municipalities will create much of the demand for future water use.

They said the process must be made easier for those who hold agricultural water rights to lease water to water-short municipalities.

Karl Wood, director of the Water Resources Research Institute at NMSU, said most of the surface water in the area -- originating from the Rio Grande -- is used for agriculture.

The primary groundwater source for Juarez is the Hueco Basin, while El Paso draws from both the Hueco and the Mesilla Bolson. About 40 percent of El Paso's water comes from the Rio Grande.

Las Cruces draws almost all of its municipal water from the Mesilla Bolson, which, unlike the Hueco Basin, is replenished by the Rio Grande.

Wood said the water from the Hueco Basin has been getting saltier, indicating the basin is essentially drying out despite conservation efforts by El Paso that include replenishing the basin with treated surface water.

Reports that Juarez may run out of water by 2005 may be exaggerated, but are not far from the mark, Wood said.

"It's a number that often comes up. It's a scary number, but it's not that they'll run out of water (by that time). It's that the water will be of a much lower quality and more difficult to obtain," Wood said.

According to a 1906 water treaty between the U.S. and Mexico, 60,000 acre feet of water from the Rio Grande must be provided to Mexico annually for agriculture.

But because of the explosion of growth in Juarez, that amount is not enough for future needs.

Juarez is currently proceeding with plans to draw a large amount of water from the southern part of the Mesilla Basin, Wood said, though it is unclear how much they intend to use.

He said heavily salinated water located in the Tularosa Basin near Alamogordo can be used if it is diluted, but this is not viewed as a long-term source of water for Juarez.

"You would have to chew (the water) rather than drink it," Wood said of most of the water in the Tularosa Basin.

Additional water located in Mexico south of Juarez in the Bismark Aquifer is also an option for the city, Wood said, though it may be too expensive to consider in the near future.

Las Cruces Mayor Ruben Smith said Las Cruces "is living on the edge" of its annual allotment of water. He said 85 percent of the water used in the area is drawn from the river for agriculture, while 15 percent of the water used in the area is from groundwater.

He said the city has pursued its own conservation efforts -- block rates for increased water usage, alternate watering days, replacing water meters -- but will still not be able to meet the water demands of projected growth.

Las Cruces currently has applied to the state engineer's office to draw 14,000 acre-feet of water from the nearby, but seldom used, Jornado Basin. The basin receives very little replenishment from the river.

State Engineer Tom Turney said Las Cruces' application will likely be granted, though he did not say it would be in the amount requested.

An additional source of future water may come from a treatment plant for surface water from the Rio Grande. This would enable groundwater to be stored in times of drought, as well as being used for the city's water needs.

Smith echoed the views of others on the panel who suggested changes to enable farmers or others holding water rights to lease water to municipalities like Las Cruces, El Paso and Juarez.

But many of those same water rights claims are currently tied up in ongoing adjudication concerning state water rights.

Turney said adjudication of about 15 percent of those water rights claims in the lower Rio Grande area has been completed.

But he said, absent significant increases in staffing, the rest of the state -- between 13,000 and 25,000 water rights claims in all -- could take much longer.

"At the rate we're going now, it will take six hundred years to finish the state. That's not acceptable," Turney said.

John Burkstaller, chief technical officer for the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board, said there is more than enough water from the Rio Grande that goes unused by farmers that could go to meet El Paso's water demand.

Despite having one of the lowest water consumption rates in the country and a fairly aggressive city conservation campaign, El Paso will still have to spend $900 million over the next 10 years to address water needs and increased water quality regulation.

"Although we are proceeding rapidly with desalinization and reuse projects, the ultimate source of sustainable water for the region is the Rio Grande," Burkstaller said. "All other available supplies are both very expensive and exhaustible."

Burkstaller said, though Texas essentially "won" recent litigation between it and New Mexico -- the court ruled New Mexico could not prohibit the export of water -- New Mexico has continued to fight El Paso's efforts through difficult regulations and conditions of export.

El Paso's plan to use more surface water in times of plentiful water cannot go forward because an additional allotment of water is needed to meet the increased demand for water.

"The problem is not supply," Burkstaller said.

Burkstaller said according to the Bureau of Reclamation, an average of 73,000 acre feet of water has been left in the Elephant Butte Reservoir every year, even after all agriculture demands have been met.

He said the bureau has also refused to honor contracts with the El Paso County Water Improvement District that would have enabled El Paso to "significantly reduce its dependence on bolsons."

"Farmers who may wish to periodically sell their water to El Paso and other municipalities are prohibited from doing so by the bureau and the irrigation districts," Burkstaller said.

He suggested the federal government, through its laws and agencies, facilitate making Rio Grande water available to municipalities.

Gary Esslinger, of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, said EBID has filed suit in New Mexico Federal District Court to contest the bureau's contention that they must approve any transfer of water to municipalities.

"EBID maintains the appropriate provisions of state water law apply and no other approval is needed," Esslinger said. "Intervention by the bureau only serves to delay the transition and adds to the final costs to consumers."

He said while there are no laws per se prohibiting the transfer or leasing of water rights to municipalities, adjudication and the bureau's unflinching position has made it very difficult for farmers to consider leasing their water rights.

"Right now, we don't have the mechanism in place (for such a transfer)," Esslinger said.

In addition, because almost all water rights in the Las Cruces area are for agriculture uses, Esslinger said there may be further obstacles because EBID will not allow transfers of water use outside of the historical use of the water.

Though representatives from Mexico took part in the hearing, Bingaman said there is apparently little coordinated effort between Mexico and U.S. states in terms of determining the amount of water in aquifers and the projected future use.

Turney said under state law, water rights can be leased to municipalities for up to 40 years, but only if the transfer of actual water rights is put to beneficial use.