Water Challenges on the Lower Rio Grande
Holiday Inn de Las Cruces
October 22-23, 1998

Preliminary Program

Wednesday, October 21
1-5 p.m.  Tour of EBID facilities

Thursday, October 22

7:00 am   Registration - Holiday Inn de Las Cruces lobby

8:15 Welcome
     Tom Bahr, Director, WRRI 
     Ruben Smith, Las Cruces Mayor

8:30      Keynote address
(invited) Senator Pete Domenici 

9:00 The Rio Grande Compact: Law of the River
     Chuck DuMars, UNM School of Law
     Commissioners Tom Turney (NM), Jack Hammond (TX), Hal D. Simpson (CO)

10:15     Break
     
10:30     Regional Water Planning and Water Assessment Updates
     Richard Cheney, ISC Chair
     Norm Gaume, ISC Engineer 

10:50     A Historical Look at the Evolution of the Rio Grande
     Neal Ackerly, Dos Rios Consultants, Inc.

11:10     New Mexico/Texas Water Commission
     Update on Commission Activities: Ed Archuleta, General Manager, El Paso Water Utilities
     Alternative Water Delivery Scenarios: Bill Webster, Boyle Engineering
     Environmental Studies: Tom Haislip, CH2M HILL
12:00     Luncheon
     Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley
     Congressman Joe Skeen

1:30 pm   Basin Guidelines and Hydrographic Survey of the Lower Rio Grande
     Calvin Chavez, Office of the State Engineer, Las Cruces District Supervisor

2:00      Groundwater Modeling of the Lower Rio Grande
     Peter Balleau, Balleau Groundwater, Inc.

2:30 USGS Seepage Investigations of the Rio Grande in the Mesilla Valley
     Ed Nickerson, USGS

2:50 Break

3:10 Arsenic Removal from Groundwater Using Ferrate and Ferrous Ions
     Michael Johnson, NMSU

3:30      Environmental Factors Influencing Mercury Concentrations in Water and Sediments in Caballo Reservoir
     Colleen Caldwell, NMSU

3:50 Aquifer Sensitivity Assessment in the Mesilla Valley
     John Kennedy and Bob Creel, WRRI

4:10 An Assay for Toxic Chemicals Using Microorganisms
     James Botsford, NMSU

4:30 Concentration of Viral Particles from Water by Ultrafiltration
     Kevin Oshima, NMSU
6:30 pm   Reception at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum
     Appetizers and Cash Bar - Dinner on your own 

Friday, October 23

8:30 am   Initiatives by the National Water Resources Assoc.
     Wayne Cunningham, President, NWRA

8:45 Water Quality on the Lower Rio Grande
     Jim Davis, New Mexico Environment Department
     Rodger Ferreira, USGS
     John Baker, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission

9:30 Overview of Pending Litigation on the Lower Rio Grande
     speaker to be announced

10:00     Break

10:30     Conversion of Water from Agriculture to Municipal Use: How to do it?
(invited) Commissioner Eluid Martinez, Bureau of Reclamation
     Gary Arnold, President, EBID Board of Directors
     Len Stokes, Consultant, City of Las Cruces
     Johnny Stubbs, President, El Paso County Water Improvement District #1
     Richard Castro, Chairman, El Paso Public Service Board

11:50     Closing Remarks
     Tom Bahr, WRRI