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WINNERS
Santa Fe River
Unless you've been sick in bed or chained to your cubicle, you've probably noticed that the usually anemic Santa Fe River-recently designated as the country's most endangered river-has been flowing like, well, a real river. The recent bounty is chiefly due to Santa Fe's two swollen reservoirs just north of town, both of which stood at 99 percent capacity last week. Consequently, city staff is letting approximately 17 million gallons per day flow freely. How long will it last? Beats us. But enjoy it while it lasts.
State reservoirs
Not only are Santa Fe's McClure and Nichols reservoirs practically bursting at the reinforced concrete seams, but apparently so are the rest of the state's major reservoirs. New Mexico's largest-Elephant Butte Reservoir-now holds approximately double the amount of water it held a year ago. El Vado has nearly reached its capacity, which marks a 31 percent spike compared with last year. A healthy snowpack and better than normal precipitation are the two most oft-cited factors.
Eldorado water fair
Even though the wet stuff has been falling freely from the sky as of late, that didn't stop some water-conscious Eldorado residents from organizing a water fair on May 12 to explore residential conservation methods. Patti Bushee-a Santa Fe city councilor as well as the outreach coordinator of the state engineer's conservation program-spoke to the virtues of choosing the right plants for landscaping and gardens. Other speakers encouraged Eldorado residents to consider gardening in containers. All in all, the water fair underscored a progressive community's determination to stay ahead of the curve.
LOSERS
Northern New Mexico Community College
The Española-based community college thought it had itself a nice little expansion property, complete with potentially lucrative water rights. Northern had made an offer on the historic Los Luceros hacienda farm, including the farm's senior water rights, worth an estimated $5 million by themselves. The college had planned to use the land and water for agricultural and environmental programs. But the state-specifically the governor's office-pulled the rug out from under the offer. At press time, the reasons remained hazy. But speculation naturally focuses on the property's water rights and the local governments or private developers who might be coveting them.
Los Alamos water
Even if you have no idea what hexavalent chromium is, you probably know you don't want it in your drinking water. While Los Alamos National Laboratory officials say there isn't any, a test well has detected amounts that far exceed both state and federal standards. Now lab officials are drilling another well to test again for the contaminant, known to cause organ and nervous system damage. Through 1972, a Los Alamos power plant dumped as much as 230,000 pounds of the contaminant into Sandia Canyon. Lab officials say results from the test well won't be in until later this summer.
New Mexico's polluted rivers
According to a recently released report from the New Mexico Environment Department, more than half of the river miles in the state fail to meet surface water quality standards of the federal Clean Water Act. The document, officially known as the State of New Mexico Integrated Clean Water Act Report, cites numerous culprits, chief among them cattle, tainted urban storm water, eroded river bank habitat and fallout from human recreation. The report is released every two years.
