Archived News/Events 2013

  • Call for Presentations:

    2nd Annual Student Water Conference, Oklahoma State University, April 4-5, 2013. The conference organizing committee invites graduate and undergraduate students to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations. Additional information can be found at http://biosystems.okstate.edu/Home/gareyf/SWC.htm.


  • Dr. Barry Hughes to speak on "Alternative Futures for Energy Production and Consumption in the US and the World."

    March 18, 2013 — University of New Mexico
    Auditorium, Centennial Engineering Building at 5:30PM

    March 19, 2013 — Sandia National Laboratories* (please see announcement regarding security clearance)
    New Mexico: 701/2001—10:00 AM (MST)
    California: M050/107 — 9:00 AM (PST)


  • Water seminar to be held Feb. 2013

    A water seminar, presented by Professor Nir Becker, Tel Hai College, Israel, titled "Water's Contribution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Is a cooperative solution possible?" will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, in Gerald Thomas Hall Room 336. Becker has had 20 years' study of water economics. The seminar is open to the public. The room holds only 95 so come early.


  • Global Perspectives Symposium & Workshop


    Acequias and the Future of Resilience in Global Perspective
    March 2-3, 2013 - Las Cruces Convention Center

    This symposium pursues a holistic understanding of acequia irrigation in the upper Rio Grande Valley as made up of interactive, interdependent biophysical, economic, ecological, and sociocultural systems. It brings together scholars whose perspectives on comparable social-ecological systems in other parts of the world can shed light on the particular and shared features of New Mexican acequias as well as on the challenges they face. Of special interest are questions about whether and how local common resource pool management can maintain or regain resilience under conditions of accelerating integration into a global economy and climate change. Register online for this symposium!


  • USGS 104G Water Resources Research National Competitive Grants Program RFP, FY 2013


    If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please contact NM WRRI Director Sam Fernald (575-646-4337; fernald@ad.nmsu.edu) as soon as possible. Proposal and budget should be reviewed by NM WRRI no later than February 14, 2013.

    The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources requests proposals for matching grants to support research on the topic of improving and enhancing the nation's water supply, including the following specific areas of inquiry (levels of priority are not assigned, and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority):

    - Evaluation of innovative approaches to water treatment, infrastructure design, retrofitting, maintenance, management and replacement.
    - Exploration and model development of the dynamics of extreme hydro-meteorological events and associated economic, environmental, social, and or infrastructure costs.
    - Development of methods for better estimation of water supply, both surface and groundwater, at gaged and ungaged sites, including estimation of the physical supply and of the economic supply of water.
    - Development and evaluation of alternative approaches and governance mechanisms for integrated surface/ground water management.
    - Evaluation and assessment of the effects of water conservation practices, as well as adoption, penetration and permanence.

    This program provides university researchers with up to $250,000 for projects of 1 to 3 years in duration. It requires a 1:1 non-federal match. The intent of the program is to encourage projects with collaboration between universities and the USGS. Funds have not been appropriated for this program but the USGS is proceeding with the proposal solicitation process in case an appropriation is received. The RFP at https://niwr.net/competitive_grants/RFP gives information on past year funding including award amounts and funding success rates.

    Researchers must submit their proposal online at the NIWR.net website. The deadline is February 21, 2013, by 2pm MST.

    • Archived News/Events 2012


  • Fiscal Year 2013 Request for Proposals, Under Section 104 of the Water Resources Research Act, closing date: 5:00 p.m., November 28, 2012.

    The New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (NM WRRI) announces availability of U.S. Geological Survey 104B grant funds. These funds are made available through the Water Research Act to support research that improves management of the waters of New Mexico. For Fiscal Year 2013, only partial funding is available due to the current federal budget continuing resolution. NM WRRI expects to fund one $30,000 grant with 104B funds in FY 2013.

    In the spring of 2013, a separate NM WRRI RFP is anticipated contingent on New Mexico state funding allocations for FY14 and will fund an additional one to four $25,000 seed grants.


  • The October 2012 issue of the Divining Rod newsletter is now available online.

  • A webcast of the 57th Annual New Mexico Water Conference will be available here.

  • Water scarcity to be topic of 57th annual New Mexico Water Conference at NMSU. While much attention has been paid of late to the serious short-term drought situation facing farmers in the American Midwest, New Mexico continues to be immersed in the worst two-year drought period in decades.

    In this context, it is timely that the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute will present the 57th annual New Mexico Water Conference, "Hard Choices: Adapting Policy and Management to Water Scarcity." http://newscenter.nmsu.edu/news/article/8785/.

  • The 57th Annual New Mexico Water Conference has been approved for 5.7 credits by the New Mexico MCLE.

  • The 56th Annual Water Conference Proceedings, New Water New Energy: A Conference Linking Desalination and Renewable Energy is now available.

  • NEW DATE and LOCATION for the upcoming 57th Annual New Mexico Water Conference. (Website http://2012.wrri.nmsu.edu )

    • SaveTheDate

  • Water Resources Competitive Grant Program FY 2012: The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers requests proposals for grants to support applied investigations in select topic areas. Proposals may request up to $200,000 in federal funds for projects that will conclude with a final paper by August 1, 2014. Up to two awards are expected to be made in FY12 and there is no matching funds requirement for these awards.

    Awards will be made to Water Resources Research Institutes so please contact NM WRRI Director Sam Fernald (575-646-4337; fernald@ad.nmsu.edu) as soon as possible if you are interested in this opportunity. Deadline is
    August 15, 2012.

    If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please have your draft proposal and budget reviewed by NM WRRI no later than August 3, 2012.

  • 2012 UCOWR / NIWR Conference, Managing Water, Energy, & Food in an Uncertain World is set for July 17-19 in beautiful, historic Santa Fe at the LaFonda. Register by June 17 to get the "Early-Bird Discount." The Preliminary Program and Online Registration links are easily accessed at www.ucowr.org.

  • The April 2012 issue of the Divining Rod newsletter is now available online.

  • 29 February 2012: Technical Completion Report 358, "Utilization of Saline and Other Impaired Waters for Turfgrass Irrigation" by Bernd Leinauer of the Department of Extension Plant Sciences; Elena Sevostianova and Casey Johnson of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University is now available online.

  • USGS Water Resources Research National Competitive Grants Program RFP, FY2012. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please contact NM WRRI Director Sam Fernald (575-646-4337; fernald@ad.nmsu.edu) as soon as possible. Draft proposal and budget should be reviewed by NM WRRI no later than February 13, 2012.

    The U.S. Geological Survey requests proposals for matching grants to support research on the topic of improving and enhancing the nation's water supply, including enhancement of water supply infrastructure, development of drought impact indicators, evaluation of the dynamics of extreme hydrological events and associated costs, development of methods for better estimation of the physical and economic supply of water, integrated management of ground and surface waters, the resilience of public water supplies, and the evaluation of conservation practices. Proposals are sought in not only the physical dimensions of supply, but also the role of economics and institutions in water supply and coping with extreme hydrologic conditions.

    This program provides university researchers with up to $250,000 for projects of 1 to 3 years in duration. It requires a 1:1 non-federal match. The intent of the program is to encourage projects with collaboration between universities and the USGS. Funds have not been appropriated for this program but the USGS is proceeding with the proposal solicitation process in case an appropriation is received. The RFP at https://niwr.net/competitive_grants/RFP a gives information on past year funding including award amounts and funding success rates. Please review the RFP carefully and if you are considering pursuing this opportunity, please contact NM WRRI Director Sam Fernald (575-646-4337; fernald@ad.nmsu.edu ) as soon as possible.

    Proposals must be filed online by February 23, 2012.

  • Water management seminar offered. The NMSU College of Engineering civil engineering department will present a seminar on "Wells, Pumps, Etc.," February 11, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Hernandez Hall, Room 103, to help improve water management during the ongoing drought in Southern New Mexico. The seminar will provide technical information on water management and on design and operation of wells and pumping systems. The seminar is for farmers, water managers and people who are involved in developing and operating water systems. Topics to be covered in the seminar include principles of wells and pumps, power units selection and operation, the Lower Rio Grande Adjudication and Operation Agreement, irrigation scheduling, National Resources Conservation Service Water Conservation Program, how to drill a well and effect of irrigation on pecan yield. There is no charge for the seminar, but advance registration is required.
    For more information contact Elvia Cisneros at 575-646-3802.

  • The January 2012 issue of the Divining Rod newsletter is now available online.


    • Archived News/Events 2011


  • The 56th Annual New Mexico Water Conference will be held this year in Alamogordo, NM on December 13-14, 2011. The title of the conference is
    "New Water New Energy: A Conference Linking Desalination and Renewable Energy." To register for the conference please follow this link: http://wrri.research.nmsu.edu

  • The November 2011 issue of the Divining Rod newsletter is now available online.

  • 14th World Lake Conference in Austin, TX from 31 October - 4 November 2011. The focus of the conference, titled Lakes, Rivers, Groundwater, and Coastal Areas: Understanding Linkages, is on lake and reservoir systems and their hydrological linkages to upstream and downstream river systems. Organizers have designed the conference to provide an interactive international forum for the exchange of knowledge and experiences related to lakes and the water systems that support them.

  • Please follow the below link to the video "Water Scarcity in New Mexico" by Jared Andersen from KRWG. It contains footage of NMSU and NSF EPSCoR Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP) student participation in measuring flows in Rio Hondo in northern New Mexico. Also, there is an interview with one of our collaborators, former Taos county agent Rey Torres. Several participants of the Coupled Natural & Human Systems (CNH) group were also interviewed along with people from different institutions regarding water scarcity issues in New Mexico. The link to watch the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HIHJ3elW98&feature=channel_video_title

  • The Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program is congressionally authorized to conduct binational scientific research to access systematically priority transboundary aquifers in the border region. Investigations are being conducted in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey and border Water Resources Research Institutes in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and in collaboration with appropriate state agencies, stakeholders, Mexican counterparts, and the International Boundary and Water Commission. A report has been prepared by the U.S.G.S.; Texas AgriLife Research, Texas A&M System; New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute; National Water Commission, Geological Service, Mexico; and the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), U.S. and Mexico. The report entitled Hydrogeological Activities in the Conejos-Medanos/Mesilla Basin Aquifer, Chihuahua, Phase I and accompanying Appendices are available online.

    The IBWC-U.S. Section currently is preparing a webpage for the program, which will post these and future reports.

  • The August 2011 issue of the Divining Rod newsletter is now available online.

  • New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has published an interesting article on a Sacramento Mountains Hydrogeology Study: How Geology and Climate Affect our Water Resources. Follow the link http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/periodicals/earthmatters/11/EMV11N1.pdf to view the article.

  • Water Resources Competive Grant Program FY 2011: The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers requests proposals for grants to support applied investigations in select topic areas. Proposals may request up to $200,000 in federal funds for projects that will conclude with a final paper by August 1, 2013. Up to four awards are expected to be made and there is no matching funds requirement for these awards. Awards will be made to Water Resources Research Institutes so please contact NMWRRI Director Sam Fernald (575-646-4337; fernald@ad.nmsu.edu ) as soon as possible if you are interested in this opportunity. Deadline is August 1, 2011.

  • Project Funding Opportunity: to apply for projects in the Gila River Basin with funding from the Arizona Water Settlements Act through the Interstate Stream Commission go to http://www.ose.state.nm.us/isc_colorado_gila_sanfran_committee.html and click on Tier-1 Application Form, Evaluation Process, Schedule. Deadline is June 30, 2011.

  • Erin Ward's retirement reception to be held Friday, May 6, 2011. The New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute will host a retirement reception for Erin Ward from 3-4:30 p.m. at the institute (Stucky Hall on Espina Street at NMSU). Erin retired April 30 after 17 years of continuous service to NMSU, culminating with the title of director of border projects within the Water Resources Research Institute. A brief presentation will begin at 3:15 p.m. For more information call Annette at 575-646-4337.

  • April 9, 2011 the Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly presents a forum on Aquifer Recharge, Storage & Recovery: Boon or Boondoggle? from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Light breakfast and conversation begins at 8:30 a.m. Location: UNM Law School, Room 2402, Albuquerque, NM.(free parking on Saturdays, campus map available at http://www.unm.edu/campusmap.html).

  • April 1, 2011 doctoral candidate Pradip Adhikari will present his seminar "Spatial variability of soil" at 3:30 p.m. in Gerald Thomas Hall, Room 200. Refreshments will be served - bring your own cup. For more information e-mail jessphil@ad.nmsu.edu.