Technical Completion Report 369, “Exploring Policy Alternatives for Controlling Nitrate Pollution from New Mexico’s Dairies”, by Jingjing Wang and Janak Raj Joshi, Department of Economics, New Mexico State University is now available online.

Technical Completion Report 368, “Drought, Salinity, and Invasive Plants: A New Model for Sustainable Water Management”, by Geno A. Picchioni and Triston N. Hooks, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Brian J. Schutte, Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Weed Science; David L. Daniel, Department of Applied Statistics at New Mexico State University is now available online.

In 2014, New Mexico’s State Legislature funded a New Mexico Universities Working Group to look at the state’s water supply vulnerabilities. The Group was asked to (1) assess the current status of water supply and demand after years of severe drought in New Mexico; (2) put the current drought into long-term context with reduced surface water, groundwater depletions, and economic activity; and (3) develop a list of vulnerabilities and promote policy strategies to mitigate these vulnerabilities. The research focused on the Lower Rio Grande.

Researchers from all three research universities in New Mexico participated in the study and included both water and social scientists. The Group included Janie Chermak, UNM Professor of Economics; David Gutzler, UNM Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences; Peggy Johnson, Principal Hydrogeologist with NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources at NM Tech; J. Phillip King, NMSU John Clark Distinguished Professor in the Civil Engineering Department; and UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research Professor Lee Reynis. The researchers were assisted by several undergraduate and graduate students.

The Groups Final Report to the Interim Committee on Water and Natural Resources was presented in August 31, 2015. The report includes an executive summary with Key Findings, Recommendations, and Principal Vulnerabilities. Click Here to view the report.

Technical Completion Report 367, “Use of the DRASTIC Model to Evaluate Groundwater Pollution Sensitivity from On-Site Waterwater Systems in the Mesilla Basin”, by J. Steven Walker and Sam Fernald, NM Water Resources Research Institute, and Christopher Brown, Geography Department, New Mexico State University is now available online.

Technical Completion Report 366, “Validation, Calibration, and Improvement of Remote Sensing ET Algorithms in Mountainous Regions Using Scintillometers”, by Jan M.H. Hendrickx, Hydrology Program, Department of Earth & Environmental Science, New Mexico Tech and Jan Kleissl, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California at San Diego (Formerly at Hydrology Program Department of Earth & Environmental Science New Mexico Tech)