The year in water news: Preparing for New Mexico's drier future
Water stayed at the forefront of news about conservation, health and money in New Mexico this year, and pressure is growing for increased support from the Roundhouse in the January legislative session.
As the world keeps heating up due to human burning and extraction of fossil fuels, New Mexico faces the dual anxiety of too much water at times, and too little at others.
While unprecedented levels of federal money was made available for water projects during the Biden administration – from drought projects to drinking water concerns — advocacy groups say costs for addressing long-neglected contamination issues across the nation are “grossly underestimated.”
Source New Mexico covered nearly 100 stories about water in 2024, ranging from U.S. Supreme Court cases to introducing the state’s new water czar to deadly flooding following wildfires and storms.
Here’s some stories you might have missed, and a look forward at what’s coming around the bend.
Rivers and streams
The relationship between chronic drought and deadly, devastating floods remains, as fires consumed forest and homes around Ruidoso, followed by walls of water and mud sloughing off the mountains during monsoon season.
Burn scars around the state faced flooding this summer, washing out homes and flooding houses, but also spaces like schooling.
Continued at: https://sourcenm.com/2024/12/27/the-year-in-water-news-preparing-for-new-mexicos-drier-future/