A drying-up Rio Grande basin threatens water security on both sides of the border

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE N M AP One of North America s longest rivers the Rio Grande or Rio Bravo as it s called in Mexico has a history as deep as it is long Indigenous people have tapped it for countless generations and it was a key artery for Spanish conquistadors centuries ago Nowadays the Rio Grande-Bravo water basin is in predicament Research published Thursday says the situation arguably is worse than challenges facing the Colorado River another vital lifeline for western U S states that have yet to chart a discipline for how best to manage that dwindling store Without rapid and large-scale action on both sides of the demarcation the researchers warn that unsustainable use threatens water defense for millions of people who rely on the binational basin They say more prevalent drying along the Rio Grande and persistent shortages could have catastrophic consequences for farmers cities and ecosystems The assessment done by World Wildlife Fund Sustainable Waters and a company of university researchers provides a full accounting of the consumptive uses as well as evaporation and other losses within the Rio Grande-Bravo basin It helps to paint the the bulk complete and the majority alarming picture yet of why the river system is in trouble FILE A family takes a walk in the Rio Grande s dry riverbed in Albuquerque N M on Thursday Aug AP Photo Susan Montoya Bryan File Unsustainable The basin provides drinking water to million people in the U S and Mexico and irrigates nearly million acres of cropland in the two countries The research shows only of the water consumed directly or indirectly within the basin is replenished naturally The other is unsustainable meaning reservoirs aquifers and the river itself will be overdrawn That s a pretty daunting challenging reality when half of our water isn t necessarily going to be reliable for the future explained Brian Richter president of Sustainable Waters and a senior fellow with the World Wildlife Fund So we have to really address that By developing down the balance sheet the researchers are hopeful policymakers and regulators can determine where water use can be reduced and how to balance supply with demand Warnings of what was to come first cropped up in the late th century when irrigation in Colorado s San Luis Valley began to dry the snowmelt-fed river resulting in diminished flows as far south as El Paso Texas Now a few stretches of the river run dry for months at a time The Big Bend area and even Albuquerque have seen dry cracked mud replace the river more often in newest years Irrigating crops by far is the largest direct use of water in the basin at according to the review Meanwhile indirect losses like evaporation account for more than half of overall consumption in the basin a factor that can t be dismissed as reservoir storage shrinks The Pecos River is shown near Loving N M Tuesday May AP Photo Susan Montoya Bryan Vanishing farms The irrigation season has become shorter with canals drying up as early as June in chosen cases despite a growing season in the U S and Mexico that typically lasts through October In central New Mexico farmers got a boost with summer rains However farmers along the Texas portion of the Pecos River and in the Rio Conchos basin of Mexico both tributaries of the Rio Grande did not receive any surface water supplies A key part of this is really connecting the urban populations to what s going on out on these farms These farmers are really struggling A lot of them are on the brink of bankruptcy Richter mentioned linking water shortages to shrinking farms smaller profits and less ability to afford labor and equipment The analysis exposed that between - water shortages contributed to the loss of of farmland in the headwaters in Colorado along the Rio Grande in New Mexico and in the Pecos River tributary in New Mexico and Texas With fewer farms less water went to irrigation in the U S However researchers commented irrigation in the Mexican portion of the basin has increased greatly The World Wildlife Fund and Sustainable Waters are working with researchers at the University of New Mexico to survey farmers on solutions to the water emergency Related Articles K-pop fans environmental activism comes to UN situation talks Fire prompts evacuations at UN context talks in Brazil but representatives say no one hurt Trump administration revives rollbacks of species protections from first term Venice s newest marvel is a wild acrobatic dolphin His refusal to leave puts him in danger Appeals court pauses California law requiring companies to document climate-related financial danger A raft of solutions The responses to overuse and depletion are as varied as the jurisdictions through which the river flows disclosed Enrique Prunes a co-author of the assessment and the manager of the World Wildlife Fund s Rio Grande Operation He pointed to Colorado where water managers have threatened to shut off groundwater wells if the aquifer that supports irrigated farms cannot be stabilized There farmers who pump groundwater pay fees that are used to incentivize other farmers to fallow their fields New Mexico s fallowing initiative is voluntary but changes could be in store if the U S Supreme Court signs off on proposed settlements stemming from a long-running dispute with Texas and the federal regime over management of the Rio Grande and groundwater use New Mexico has acknowledged it will have to curb groundwater pumping New Mexico is behind in its water deliveries to Texas under an interstate compact while Mexico owes water to the U S under a binational treaty Researchers mentioned meeting those obligations won t get easier Prunes revealed policymakers must also consider the circumstances when crafting solutions Rebalancing the system also means maintaining those basic functions that the river and the aquifers and the groundwater-dependent ecosystems have he stated And that s the indicator of resilience to a future of less water