2023.01.19
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Burn scars from the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire, which burned more than 341,000 acres in New Mexico’s Santa Fe National Forest in 2022. Photo courtesy of Matthew Kowal under a Creative Commons license

New Mexico Town, Still Reeling from Historic Fire, Receives Federal Aid to Repair Drinking Water System

A New Mexico town that is intimately aware of the water supply risks from a drying climate could receive up to $140 million to rebuild its water system after the largest wildfire in state history tore through its watershed last year.

Besides being a lifeline, the funds also illustrate the financial and ecological vulnerability of small, high-poverty communities in the face of extreme weather.

Congress and federal agencies took action on several Mississippi River projects in major legislation that was passed during the winter holidays. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue

Federal Government Advances Big Water Projects

 

Before ending its session and swearing in new members, Congress passed a fiscal year 2023 budget with key provisions for water infrastructure and disaster recovery. That’s in addition to approving legislation that authorizes Army Corps of Engineers projects for flood protection, navigation, and environmental restoration.

Combined, the two bills run to more than 8,000 pages. Water sector advocates, though confounded by how some infrastructure funds are being allocated, were generally pleased with what the bills contain.

Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue


Tune into What's Up With Water for your need to know news of the world's water on Apple PodcastsSpotifyiHeartRadio, and SoundCloud.

Featured coverage from this week's episode of What's Up With Water looks at:

 

  • A new report says that the world’s dams are filling up – but not in a good way. Rivers are depositing sediment into the reservoirs behind dams, reducing their capacity to hold water.
 
  • In Arizona, newly elected leaders wasted no time in tackling the state’s urgent water problems. Katie Hobbs was sworn in as governor on January 2 and began her term by calling water issues “the challenge of our time.” After a week in office, Hobbs established an expert council to recommend updates to the state’s groundwater laws.
 
  • In New Mexico, some communities could get millions to rebuild their water systems after the largest wildfire in state history tore through their watershed last year. The funds are a lifeline for areas ravaged by a drying climate. They also underscore the financial and ecological vulnerability of small, impoverished communities in the face of extreme weather. 
From the Archives: 

The drying American West needs all the high-quality water it can get. It also needs adequate funds to protect its forests, the wellsprings of the region’s rivers. 

But massively destructive, high-intensity megafires that now burn millions of acres and inundate the West’s rivers with ash and debris are punishing the beneficial relationship between forests and watersheds. 

Here in the mountains surrounding this tiny community in northern New Mexico’s Rio Grande basin, fresh approaches to water management, fire, forest health, and project funding have converged to present an effective solution. 

Circle of Blue brings our readers to the front lines of the biggest stories around the most important issue on the planet: The world’s water. 

Just as water is central to life, your support is vital to what we do. 

Please support our nonprofit journalism today.

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