Rio Rancho plans to pour effluent into the aquifer

by Christie Chisholm, Weekly Alibi, February 23, 2012

Rio Rancho’s waste is being wasted. The same is true for most cities, which treat their sewage well enough to be used for gray water purposes but then send it downriver. Due to the plight of the desert and a rapidly growing population, Rio Rancho no longer wants to send off its sewage.

The city plans to inject it into the aquifer instead.

The project sounds scarier than it is, says Bruce Thomson, professor of civil engineering and director of the Water Resources Program at the University of New Mexico. “It’s extremely low-risk,” he says, adding that the project is environmentally friendly since it conserves resources. Still, people have an instinctually negative reaction to the idea of what’s called “toilet to tap,” and some worry about the safety of the plan.

by Christie Chisholm, Weekly Alibi, February 16, 2012

After more than a year of death-defying escapes, an environmental rule was repealed on Monday, Feb. 6, with a unanimous vote by a Gov. Susana Martinez-appointed board.

The rule up for debate was on capping and trading carbon dioxide emissions—putting a cap on how much can be produced and allowing companies that come in under the limit to trade what remains of their allowance.

The regulation was approved by the Environmental Improvement Board in 2010 during the final months of Democrat Gov. Bill Richardson's administration. But it was never implemented. Martinez fired all seven of those 2010 members and replaced them. The overhauled board axed cap-and-trade.

Does our desert city have the right to drink from the Rio Grande?

by Christie Chisholm, Weekly Alibi, December 15, 2011

When people in Albuquerque turn on their faucets, a little bit of the Rio Grande comes pouring out. That’s because on Dec. 5, 2008, the city stopped relying solely on a rapidly dwindling aquifer. Our water utility flipped a switch, and the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project came online.

The idea behind using river water was to lessen the strain on our underground supply. If it worked, the aquifer would begin to replenish itself, and the city would avoid catastrophe. Without a change, severe water-quality problems and region-wide subsidence (i.e., sinking land) were estimated to be about three decades away.

The good news is the project seems to be working. The bad news is the New Mexico Court of Appeals just ruled the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority doesn’t have the rights for the Rio Grande.