2005.06.03: June 3, 2005: Headlines: COS - Cyprus: Water: Environment: New Mexico Business Daily: Many people scoffed in 2003 when Albuquerque water broker Bill Turner (RPCV Cyprus) made a bold claim for the rights to all the water that evaporates from the 40-mile-long Elephant Butte Reservoir every year
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2005.06.03: June 3, 2005: Headlines: COS - Cyprus: Water: Environment: New Mexico Business Daily: Many people scoffed in 2003 when Albuquerque water broker Bill Turner (RPCV Cyprus) made a bold claim for the rights to all the water that evaporates from the 40-mile-long Elephant Butte Reservoir every year
Many people scoffed in 2003 when Albuquerque water broker Bill Turner (RPCV Cyprus) made a bold claim for the rights to all the water that evaporates from the 40-mile-long Elephant Butte Reservoir every year
Turner figured that if the evaporation could be prevented by storing the reservoir's water in underground aquifers, there would be 81 billion gallons of unclaimed water that he would have the rights to. Water experts derided the idea because it involved draining Elephant Butte and finding underground formations in which to store the water that flows into the lake. The idea was considered impractical. But Turner now has one potential taker for some of that water: Albuquerque's northwest neighbor, the city of Rio Rancho.
Many people scoffed in 2003 when Albuquerque water broker Bill Turner (RPCV Cyprus) made a bold claim for the rights to all the water that evaporates from the 40-mile-long Elephant Butte Reservoir every year
Rio Rancho floats Turner's evaporation plan
New Mexico Business Weekly - June 3, 2005
by Dennis Domzalski
NMBW Staff
Many people scoffed in 2003 when Albuquerque water broker Bill Turner made a bold claim for water along the Rio Grande: He applied for the rights to all the water that evaporates from the 40-mile-long Elephant Butte Reservoir every year. In some years, that evaporation amounts to 250,000 acre feet, or 81 billion gallons of water.
Turner figured that if the evaporation could be prevented by storing the reservoir's water in underground aquifers, there would be 81 billion gallons of unclaimed water that he would have the rights to.
Water experts derided the idea because it involved draining Elephant Butte and finding underground formations in which to store the water that flows into the lake. The idea was considered impractical.
But Turner now has one potential taker for some of that water: Albuquerque's northwest neighbor, the city of Rio Rancho.
"Rio Rancho has the need for significant water supplies now and into the future. We are doubling in size and expect to need more than 100,000 acre-feet of water," Rio Rancho's Director of Public Infrastructure John Kolessar wrote to Turner on Dec. 21, 2004. We have carefully considered your offer of long-term supplies of water that you hope to provide as a result of [your application] filed with the New Mexico State Engineer. We understand that you are involved in hearings before the State Engineer and that further litigation may be required.
"It would be desirable for Rio Rancho to join a pool of municipalities, agricultural, and environmental interests to negotiate for delivery of water at a reasonable cost. We would be willing to enter into a long-term agreement with an escalation clause."
Turner says that Kolessar's letter is proof that his application isn't a harebrained scheme.
"We are talking about huge amounts of water that evaporate and that cities could use," Turner says. "The amount of water is mind-boggling."
The State Engineer's Office denied Turner's application, saying there is no unappropriated water along the middle Rio Grande. Turner has appealed. Hearings are scheduled for November.
Evaporation from New Mexico's reservoirs causes significant water loss. According to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Heron Lake lost 8,768 acre-feet of water to evaporation in 2003, while Cochiti Lake lost 12,851 acre-feet (an acre-foot equals 326,000 gallons of water). Elephant Butte lost 70,804 acre-feet to evaporation in 2003, the Bureau says. In previous years, Elephant Butte, which was built in 1916, has lost as much as 250,000-acre-feet to evaporation, according to Bureau statistics.
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Headlines: June, 2005; Peace Corps Cyprus; Directory of Cyprus RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Cyprus RPCVs; Water; Environment; New Mexico
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Story Source: New Mexico Business Daily
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