Christie Chisholm has a great overview in this week’s Alibi of the city of Albuquerque’s San Juan-Chama water project. What I liked is the way she captured the complexity of this project. No easy answers, no free lunch when it comes to New Mexico water:

Even though the city wants to drastically cut pumping from the aquifer, the effects on the river will still be seen for many years. Also, as less groundwater is pumped, less water from the aquifer will be discharged to the river as municipal effluent, which is currently treated and sent downstream to irrigators like Robert. Over time, reduced pumping could help replenish the aquifer, but it will mean less water in the river for downstream users.