Conservation, re-use key to water planning for ABQ, BernCo
Recycled water must become a much bigger part of our supply, and not just for green spaces
The June 27 editorial regarding the need for long-range water planning in New Mexico was spot-on. Too little is being done to prepare for the effects of climate change and growing populations on Western water resources. The competing needs of urban and agricultural interests merely compound the problem.
As mentioned in the editorial, however, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority is taking the long view with its Water 2120 resource management plan. The emphasis here is on optimizing the water resources already available to us and eliminating the farm/city conflict by ceasing to acquire agricultural water rights for municipal use.
For Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, this means we can’t take our foot off the gas when it comes to conservation. Reaching the consumption goal of 110 gallons per person per day (gpcd) is an integral part of the 2120 strategy. We’re around 129 gpcd right now, and under the plan we’ve got 16 more years to reach our objective.
Meanwhile, we must greatly expand our capacity for water re-use. We’re already irrigating parts of southeast Albuquerque with reclaimed water — perhaps you’ve seen the purple-striped reservoir at the Puerto del Sol golf course — and very soon we’ll be using it on landscaping at the Sunport. But re-use currently accounts for only about 2.2% of our consumption. While that’s a good start, recycled water must become a much bigger part of our supply portfolio, and not just for parks, green spaces and golf courses. We must also consider the eventual possibility of indirect potable re-use systems that harness nature’s purification power, via aquifer storage and later recovery, for example, to convert reclaimed water into safe, clean drinking water.
This will require the community’s support — not only for the concept of re-use as a critical source of supply, but for investment in the infrastructure necessary to bring it to the Water Authority’s customers. Yes, we’ll have to endure some torn-up roads. Yes, water will become a little more expensive. But it will be worth these sacrifices to ensure a sustainable community for our children and grandchildren.