Circular 653: Fishes in the Middle and Lower Rio Grande Irrigation Systems of New Mexico

Circular 653: Fishes in the Middle and Lower Rio Grande Irrigation Systems of New Mexico Rossana Sallenave (Extension Aquatic Ecology Specialist, Dept. of Extension Animal Sciences and Natural Resources) Carl Carrasco (Former Research Assistant, Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology) David E. Cowley (Professor, Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology) PDF: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/CR653.pdf

New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute launches new website

New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute launches new website New Mexico State University’s Water Resources Research Institute launched a new website, Center for the Development and Use of Alternative Water Supplies, in January 2018. It includes information about the collaborative partnership between NMSU and the Bureau of Reclamation that is administered by NM WRRI. The purpose behind the website is to “provide the community and researchers with information and resources on the cooperative agreement between NMSU and the Bureau of Reclamation,” said NM WRRI Program Coordinator Avery Olshefski. The cooperative agreement is a five-year research effort that aims to increase scientific knowledge in the area of alternative water characterization, treatment and use for water supply sustainability in New Mexico and the western U.S. through collaborative research, student education and community workshops. Reclamation and NMSU are currently working together under their second cooperative agreement, which began in 2016 and funds nine research efforts with NMSU faculty and students. The ongoing research under the current agreement includes topics such as technology improvements to reduce fouling in membranes and concentrate handling as well as improved chemical analysis methods for brackish groundwater research. Visit the website to learn more about the innovative technology in development, meet the research faculty and students who are conducting promising research that has the potential to make a substantial impact on water availability, see the various facilities where this research is conducted and learn how to get involved in community workshops. To visit the website, go to https://cduaws.nmwrri.nmsu.edu.

Santa Fe Community College Offers Next Generation Water Summit Workshops

Santa Fe Community College Offers Next Generation Water Summit Workshops April 25 through May 3, before and after the 2018 Next Generation Water Summit SANTA FE, NM – Santa Fe Community College announces its partnership with this year’s Next Generation Water Summit. As the education partner for the Summit, SFCC will host several water education workshops before and after the summit scheduled April 29 through May 1 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. The workshops include: Greywater Basics, Rainwater Accredited Professional (ARCSA AP) Class, Water Efficiency Rating Score and Commercial Water Auditing among others. This is the first time several of these courses will be presented in New Mexico and are open to professionals and students. All courses will be taught at Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave. For detailed information about the courses and to register, visit: https://www.energysmartacademy.com/water.html or call 505-428-1866. Information about the 2018 Next Generation Water Summit can be found at: www.NextGenerationWaterSummit.com. “It's a privilege to partner with the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce, Green Builder® Coalition, the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association and the City of Santa Fe by serving as the education partner for the summit,” said Interim President Cecilia Y.M. Cervantes, Ph.D. “We are excited to offer these valuable and innovative water workshops, which complement the college’s already strong technology and building science offerings.” The Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS)® Verifier course, April 25 through 27, provides in-depth and practical experience in performing residential water assessments for new and existing homes. This class is required to become a WERS Verifier. The WERS Consultant course, April 25 and 26, is also being offered and plumbers, builders, irrigation professionals and water reuse professionals are eligible to attend this professional designation course. Greywater Basics, April 26 and 27, will cover how to build and maintain a Greywater system and includes a field trip to view working systems. The Rainwater Accredited Professional (ARCSA AP) Class, May 2 and 3, is an in-depth rainwater harvesting workshop required for those seeking a better understanding of rainwater catchment systems. The course tuition includes an ARCSA Rain Harvesting Planning Manual. Commercial Water Auditing, May 2 and 3, will cover the basics of performing a commercial water audit for many type of facilities. A sample audit will be performed as part of the class. Hosts of the Next Generation Water Summit are the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce, Green Builder® Coalition, City of Santa Fe, the Alliance for Water Efficiency and the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association. Santa Fe Community College is the official education sponsor, and Green Builder® Media is the national media partner. The Next Generation Water Summit brings together the building and development community, water reuse professionals and water policymakers in a collaborative setting to share best practices and learn about innovative water conservation and water reuse techniques that can be used to comply with water conservation restrictions spreading across the Southwest. For more than 30 years, Santa Fe Community College has been the gateway to success for individuals and the community by providing affordable, high quality educational programs that serve the social, cultural, technological and economic needs of a diverse community. SFCC is designated a ”Best for Vets” and a “2015 Military Friendly” school. The college serves more than 15,000 students per year in its credit, noncredit and adult programs. For further information, visit sfcc.edu or call 505-428-1000. Follow us: SFCC on Facebook, SFCC on Twitter, SFCC on LinkedIn.

List the Texas Hornshell Mussel as endangered

As some of you may already know, the US FWS has decided to list the Texas Hornshell Mussel as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The listing decision will take effect on March 12, 2018. If you have not already submitted an intent form for the CCA/A Program, please do so before March 12, 2018. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-09/pdf/2018-02672.pdf

New Tools to Improve Irrigation Management

New Tools to Improve Irrigation Management, Plant Health, and Water-Use Efficiency Cutting-edge chemistry for optimizing soil-plant-water relations February 15, 2018 | 1:00 PM CST Water management is one of the biggest challenges facing the agricultural industry, especially in regions where water supplies are limited by source or community environmental restrictions. Soil surfactants and amendments have traditionally been limited by inconvenient handling and application requirements. This webinar explores a new advance in chemistry that uses existing irrigation equipment to improve the precision of delivery while increasing water holding capacity for many soil types. REGISTER NOW! AT https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1176001&tp_key=559a42b44f copy and paste to your browser, I could not copy the string

WRRI NEWS

________________________________________ Meet the Researcher Caroline Scruggs, University of New Mexico by Catherine Ortega Klett, NM WRRI Program Manager Caroline Scruggs is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Planning at the University of New Mexico. She has BS and MS degrees in environmental engineering from Virginia Tech, and she worked as a consulting engineer for ten years before a particular project inspired her to go back to grad school. Scruggs says, “At the time, I was working on a large project in Las Vegas, Nevada, about how best to convey wastewater from the area’s three largest wastewater treatment plants into Lake Mead, which is the drinking water source for Las Vegas and downstream communities. This project included fascinating and important questions for me related to both potable water reuse and the effects of trace contaminants in wastewater on the environment and public health.” In 2012, she earned an interdisciplinary environment and resources PhD from Stanford University. She describes her dissertation as “focused on chemicals policy and smarter management of hazardous chemicals – thinking about the chemicals in consumer products that make their way into wastewater, the environment, drinking water, and living things.” Read more ________________________________________ NMSU PhD Student Studies Contaminant Movement in the Unsaturated Zone by Catherine Ortega Klett, NM WRRI Program Manager William Weaver, doctoral candidate in NMSU’s Department of Civil Engineering, received a 2017 NM WRRI Student Water Research Grant to study the mobility of contaminants in the unsaturated zone, the portion of the subsurface above the groundwater table. Working with his faculty advisor, Dr. Lambis Papelis, also of the Department of Civil Engineering, Weaver looked at strontium, a highly reactive chemical element, and chromate, a carcinogen known for its mobility in the environment, to investigate their movement in porous media following processes such as evaporation, rainfall, and irrigation. Project findings (available by clicking here) can be used by those involved in remediating contaminated sites to help them better understand the migration of contaminants in the unsaturated zone and the potential for contamination to spread away from the contaminated site. Weaver indicated that the student research grant provided him with funding to travel and conduct research on his experimental sample at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at Stanford University. He said, “A personal highlight from conducting the study was a significantly positive experience performing research at Stanford University.” The grant also enabled him to purchase critical research equipment and supplies, and to travel to the American Geophysical Union Conference to present his project. Having earned a BS in chemistry from South Carolina State University, an MS in agronomy from Iowa State University, and an MS in environmental engineering from NMSU, Weaver plans to graduate in May 2018 with a PhD in civil engineering. Concerning his future plans, he said he wants to continue his career in a water-related field, working initially perhaps as a postdoctoral researcher and potentially as a faculty member of a research organization. NM WRRI Program Coordinator, Avery Olshefski (second from right) participated in a breakout group at the New Mexico Water Dialogue 24th Annual Meeting. ________________________________________ New Mexico Water Dialogue 24th Annual Meeting by Avery Olshefski, NM WRRI Program Coordinator The New Mexico Water Dialogue annual meetings bring professionals and the public together to discuss important water-related issues and to hear distinguished speakers’ perspectives on those topics. This year’s annual meeting was held at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM on January 11, 2018. The topic of the meeting was “Balancing Our Water Needs: Adjudication and Alternatives,” which evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of adjudications within the context of managing New Mexico’s water resources. The keynote speaker, Professor Reed Benson from UNM School of Law, touched on the purposes of adjudications and how they correlate with water management in New Mexico. He highlighted the fact that adjudications are done on a scale of decades, not years, and that alternatives to the adjudication process could benefit water management strategies for NM. On the other hand, Arianne Singer, Deputy General Counsel for the Office of the State Engineer, spoke about the benefits of adjudicating tribal claims because tribes and pueblos represent the greatest uncertainty for New Mexico’s water obligations. She also pointed out an example of how settling Navajo Nation tribal claims in the northwest corner of the state led to much-needed infrastructure and economic benefits for the region. Following the talks, there was a panel discussion about water management alternatives for the Lower Rio Grande and Clayton County, which were covered by Dr. Phil King and Dr. Kate Zeigler, respectively. After lunch, the attendees participated in breakout sessions that covered 11 topics that ranged from “Instream Flow and Wildlife” to “Shortage Sharing Strategies.” The annual meeting concluded with Lucia Sanchez, Interstate Stream Commission, and Kelsey Rader, New Mexico First, giving an update on the State Water Planning Town Hall that was held in December 2017. NM WRRI staff from left: Blane Sanchez, Sam Fernald, Catherine Ortega Klett, Jesslyn Ratliff, and Fernando Herrera. ________________________________________ NM WRRI Staff Attends AgFest by Catherine Ortega Klett, NM WRRI Program Manager Staff from NM WRRI took part in the annual AgFest expo in Santa Fe on January 23. The event, hosted by the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, featured many exhibits that provide legislators and other visitors with program information. Institute staff prepared slides that were shown on large screen monitors featuring recent activities including reports, conferences, and research projects conducted by faculty and students from around the state. NM WRRI Program Specialist and Water Science & Management (WSM) Program Coordinator Jesslyn Ratliff provided information on NMSU’s WSM graduate student program opportunities. The event attracted over a thousand participants. ________________________________________ iEMSs Congress 2018, Fort-Collins: A Session on Socio-Ecological Modeling of the Rio Grande/Bravo Basin The 9th International Congress on Environmental Modeling & Software will be hosted at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, on June 24-28, 2018. This year, the theme is focused on Sustainable Food-Energy-Water Systems. The Call for abstracts is now open. Session E4 “Methods and Approaches to Modelling Socio-Ecological Dynamics of the Rio Grande/Bravo Basin”, co-organized by social and environmental scientists from the University of Oklahoma and Oregon State University, will provide a forum for the international Rio Grande/Bravo Basin research community to present their current modeling efforts and engage in a discussion about theoretical and methodological findings that can help to solve complex environmental and social issues within the basin. The abstract submission deadline is February 15, 2018 (extended). For abstract guidelines, visit the iEMSs 2018 congress website at: http://iemss2018.engr.colostate.edu/call-for-abstracts/. All abstracts (250 words maximum) must be submitted online using the provided abstract form.

33 recommendations have been submitted to the ISC

Dear Town Hall Registrant, New Mexico First and the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) thank you for your attendance and participation at last month’s state water planning town hall. Due to your commitment to water policy, 33 recommendations have been submitted to the ISC for consideration and potential inclusion in the 2018 State Water Plan. We are now proud to announce the release of the State Water Planning Town Hall Final Report. The report details the processes and outcomes of the town hall – including all 33 of the recommendations with their perceived impact voting results. Please access the report here and at nmfirst.org. Sincerely, The New Mexico First Team nmfirst.org info@nmfirst.org 505-225-2140