THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
OF LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO

LWVLA STUDY OF WATER SUPPLY AND DEMAND, 2007-8

At its 2007 annual meeting, the League of Women Voters of Los Alamos adopted a Water Study focusing on local study of water supply and demand. The proposal outlined in the March 2007 newsletter (p. 6) says "We will read the Los Alamos County 40 Year Water Plan, completed in 2006, as well as the 2003 Jemez y Sangre Regional Water Plan, and will meet with local water experts and planners. Our goal will be to understand the issues and the options available so that we can participate in making decisions about our future."

Consensus Questions

Definitions and Units: Unit conversion factors (acre-feet, gallons, and all that) plus brief discussions of the doctrine of "prior appropriation", "adjudication", and "offsets".

1. What role should the sustainability of the water supply play in setting goals for economic development in the County? Alternatives
2. Should the County divert San Juan-Chama water? If so, how? If not, why not? Background Alternatives
3. What methods of conservation do we support? Background Alternatives
4. What elements of "public welfare" are most important? Background Alternatives

Basic References

Introduction to New Mexico Water History and Terminology, NM Legislative Council Service Information Bulletin, November 21, 2002.

Jemez y Sangre regional water plan.

Alleta Belin, Consuela Bokum and Frank Titus (2002). Taking Charge of Our Water Destiny: A Water Management Policy Guide for New Mexico in the 21st Century. 1000 Friends of New Mexico. (PDF, 856 KB)

Los Alamos Information

Buckman Diversion Project, Santa Fe New Mexican, May 25, 2007.

San Juan Chama Project Water Utilization Study, Los Alamos County web site.

Richard Koch and David Rogers (2003). Water Supply at Los Alamos, 1998-2001, LA-13985-PR.

Articles: New Mexico and Southwest

Drought and Water Conservation, NM Legislative Council Service Information Bulletin, July 6, 2006.

Permanent drought predicted for Southwest, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2007.

Global forecast is 'mostly dry', Christian Science Monitor, April 5, 2007.

The Big Suck, Santa Fe Reporter, April 4, 2007.

Watering the West, Headwaters News, March 15, 2007. "Historically, land-use and water planning have occurred separately from one another. Water is allocated by state agencies, and land-use planning is done by local officials."

Useful Links

NM Water Connections. The goal of this website is to facilitate communication between groups working on water related issues in New Mexico, promote collaboration between these groups, and provide a guide for anyone interested in finding out about water issues in our state. Includes a page of useful links.

New Mexico Water Dialog. Good newsletter; visit the publications page.

Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security. Publisher of the biannual report "The World's Water".

USGS Water Resources Information