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New Mexico’s Rio Grande, at the U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow (Wed. March 20, 2024) about the fate of ongoing litigation between Texas and New Mexico about how to share the waters of the Rio Grande. The two states (Colorado is technically a party two, but this is really Texas v. New Mexico) have what they think is a deal, which involves a new measurement...

Tue Mar 19, 2024 21:21
Counseling patience on the current Colorado River kerfuffles

Despite the Sturm und Drang of last week’s competing proposals to the federal government for managing drought and climate change on the Colorado River, there’s a lot to be hopeful about. On their faces, the Upper Basin and Lower Basin proposals have a lot of “Water’s for fighting over after all!” vibe. But if you take them “seriously but not literally”,...

Tue Mar 12, 2024 00:12
Holding Course: February brings more of the same for basin storage

A guest post from Jack Schmidt, crossposted from Utah State University’s Center for Colorado River Studies By Jack Schmidt | March 8, 2024 Reservoir storage didn’t change much in February 2024, demonstrating that the Basin’s water managers and users have succeeded in retaining the bounty of last year’s big runoff. This month’s assessment of Colorado...

Sat Mar 9, 2024 03:17
Stanley Crawford on the first water of spring

First water in the old Jarales acequia, along New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande, March 2024 Six days later, Lázaro Quintana, the mayordomo, opened the headgate and sent the first water of the new season down the five-mile long ditch, empty since the November before. When the brown water finally arrived four hours later at the bridge, the tip of its foamy...

Fri Mar 8, 2024 18:18
Dad’s hammer

Dad’s hammer Trying to remove a gizmo from my bike yesterday that was stuck because of a stripped hex bolt, I had occasion to root around L’s tools for a hammer, something small and precise that I could use to carefully tap the gizmo loose. I remember this hammer from my childhood. It was Dad’s. Lissa reminded me that it was a tack hammer. Dad, an...

Thu Mar 7, 2024 19:11
Tracking flows on New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande as irrigation season begins

Early spring base flows, before snowmelt begins. It’s hard to tell this morning what yesterday’s howling dry winds did to our snowpack. It’s the sort of thing that can cause sublimation, which means the loss of snow straight to atmospheric drying without ever having a chance to melt and make it to the rivers. It looks like some snow may have fallen...

Wed Feb 28, 2024 17:30

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