ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. government is dedicating $60 million over the next few years to projects along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and West Texas to make the river more resilient in the face of climate change and growing demands.
“She was teaching us how precious water is in the desert,” Haaland said, standing among the cottonwoods that make up a green belt that stretches the length of the river from the Colorado-New Mexico border south into Texas and Mexico.Grupo Frontera’s hybrid Mexican music went global. On a new album, their genre-melding has no limitsHaaland noted that parts of the river have gone dry through the Albuquerque stretch in recent years.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat, said improving sustainability along the Rio Grande will help the state meets obligations under a decades-old compact to deliver water downstream to Texas and ultimately Mexico. In all, the Inflation Reduction Act provides $4 billion for mitigating drought in 17 western states, with the priority being the Colorado River Basin. However, the legislation also carved out $500 million for water management and conservation projects in other basins that are experiencing similar levels of long-term drought.
By capturing more stormwater and increasing storage, officials said they could recharge aquifers and reduce irrigation demands.