Laura: I AM LAURA PASKUS AND IN 2017 THE OUR LAND TEAM  VISITED THE PETRI FAMILY IN THE EAST MOUNTAINS.

THEIR DOMESTIC WELL HAD GONE DRY AND THEY WEREN'T THE ONLY  ONES HAVING THAT PROBLEM.

AT THE TIME WE ALSO MET WITH  PHILLIP RUST, A HYDROGEOLOGIST WITH BERNALILLO COUNTY, WHO  WAS TRACKING GROUNDWATER LEVELS IN THE AREA.

TODAY, MANY COMMUNITIES IN NEW MEXICO, INCLUDING THE EAST  MOUNTAINS, ARE SEEING A HOUSING BOOM.

MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WANT TO MOVE HERE BUT WELLS ARE STILL  DRYING AND GROUNDWATER LEVELS ARE STILL DROPPING.

THIS WEEK ON NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS, I CHECK BACK WITH  PHILLIP RUST TO FIND OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING UNDERGROUND.

HI PHILLIP, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING ON NEW MEXICO  IN FOCUS WITH ME.

Rust: LAURA, THANK YOU FOR  HAVING ME BACK.

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU  FOLLOWING UP WITH ME.

THANK YOU.

Laura: SO, LET'S START REALLY BASIC FOR OUR AUDIENCE.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT GROUNDWATER TODAY.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT GROUNDWATER IN NEW MEXICO, WE  ARE NOT THINKING ABOUT LIKE A GIANT UNDERGROUND CAVE WITH A  LAKE IN IT.

Rust: THAT WOULD BE  FORTUNATE BECAUSE AN UNDERGROUND LAKE WOULD HAVE A  LOT MORE STORAGE CAPACITY THAN THE ROCKS DO.

ALL WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IS WATER.

IT IS STORED IN SUBSTANCES, SMALL CRACKS, BETWEEN FLOORS,  BETWEEN GRAINS OVER A VAST AREA.

YES, IT MAY SEEM LIKE THE NUMBERS ARE BIG BUT  UNFORTUNATELY THE NUMBERS WE ARE WITHDRAWING ARE ALSO VERY  BIG.

AS WE ARE HERE TO DISCUSS  UNFORTUNATELY IN A LOT OF PLACES IN BERNALILLO COUNTY  AND SURROUNDING AREA, WATER LEVELS ARE BEING DEPLETED  SUBSTANTIALLY FASTER THAN IT IS NATURALLY RECHARGING.

Laura: SO, WE DID A SHOW WITH YOU FOUR YEARS AGO  LOOKING AT THE EAST MOUNTAINS.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE FOR PEOPLE A  LITTLE BIT WHAT REGION WE ARE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT?

Rust: WELL, WE CAN TALK ABOUT ALL OF BERNALILLO COUNTY  BUT THERE IS A COUPLE OF REASONS WHY I DON'T WANT TO  FOCUS ON ALL OF BERNALILLO COUNTY, MOSTLY BECAUSE,  EVERYTHING WITHIN ALBUQUERQUE IS GOVERNED BY THE ALBUQUERQUE  WATER AUTHORITY.

AND I GENERALLY DON'T CROSS  INTO THEIR REALM TOO MUCH.

THERE ARE CERTAIN PARTS OF  ALBUQUERQUE THAT ARE INCORPORATED LIKE NORTH  ALBUQUERQUE ACRES AREA.

A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE ARE  STILL ON WELLS.

I DO MONITOR SOME OF THOSE  WELLS.

BUT ONE OF MY THINGS THAT I DO  FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, PRIMARILY OUTSIDE OF  ALBUQUERQUE, IS I MONITOR THOSE WATER LEVELS IN DOMESTIC  WELLS.

I HAVE GOT ALMOST 350 WELLS IN  THE PROGRAM THAT I NOW MONITOR.

I DO IT ABOUT THREE TIMES A YEAR.

I WILL GO TO PEOPLES' HOUSES, I WILL CHECK THEIR WATER  LEVELS, AND EVERY TIME I DO THAT, WHAT I DO IS SEND THEM  AN UPDATE WITH A SUMMARY OF ALL LEVELS I HAVE TAKEN TO  DATE.

AND THERE IS A GRAPH SHOWING  WATER LEVELS OVER TIME.

SO IT IS A SCIENCE-BASED AND  SERVICE-BASED PROGRAM.

IT IS REALLY WORKING WITH THE  COMMUNITY AND THEY GET THE SERVICE AND I GET THE SCIENCE  AND IT HELPS THEM KEEP TRACK OF WHAT IS GOING ON WITH  GROUNDWATER RESOURCES.

YOU BROUGHT UP THE EAST  MOUNTAINS.

THE REASON I FOCUS ON THAT,  THAT IS WHERE THE HOTTEST PLACE IS AS FAR AS GROUNDWATER  WITHDRAWAL.

ACTUALLY, ALBUQUERQUE, ITSELF  IS LESS -- WE STILL HAVE TO BE VERY MINDFUL ABOUT HOW MUCH  WATER WE USE, BUT THERE HAS BEEN A VERY ROBUST GROUNDWATER  AND WATER USAGE PUBLIC AWARENESS PROGRAM IN  ALBUQUERQUE THAT HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL AND I AM GOING TO  QUOTE NUMBERS.

SO, PLEASE, IF I DON'T DO A  VERY GOOD JOB, BUT I WANT TO SAY SINCE ALBUQUERQUE WATER  AUTHORITY HAS INITIATED PROGRAMS TO EDUCATE PEOPLE FOR  WATER CONSERVATION AND WATER USAGE, THEY ACTUALLY, YOU HAVE  SEEN A DECREASE IN THE WATER USAGE FROM 215-GALLONS PER  PERSON PER DAY TO ABOUT 129 GALLONS PER PERSON PER  DAY, A SUBSTANTIAL DECREASE.

THAT IS ALMOST HALF OF WHAT WE  USED, SAY, 10 OR 15 YEARS AGO WHENEVER THEY STARTED THIS  PROGRAM.

WHAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN IS  THE GROUNDWATER, AQUIFER HAS REBOUNDED IN RESPONSE TO THAT  DECREASED USAGE.

I THINK WE CAN SEE THE SAME  THING IN THE EAST MOUNTAINS IF WE HAVE A SIMILARLY ROBUST  COMMUNITY AWARENESS PROGRAM.

Laura: WHEN WE TALKED FOUR  YEARS AGO COUNTY STUDIES HAD SHOWN THAT GROUND LEVELS WERE  DROPPING IN THE EAST MOUNTAINS AREA 1.8 FEET PER YEAR.

NOW, FOUR YEARS LATER, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT?

Rust: IT HAS ACCELERATED.

IT IS AROUND 2.5 TO 2.8.

DEPENDING ON EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE AT.

SOME PLACES, UNFORTUNATELY, ARE DROPPING ABOUT 10 FEET PER  YEAR.

THAT IS MORE GEOLOGICALLY  MOTIVATED THAN WATER USAGE BUT IT IS ALL COMBINED.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE GEOLOGY, YOU'LL GET RECHARGE.

YOU WILL GET CLIMATE AND YOU LOOK AT HUMAN USAGE AND  DEPLETION, THE EQUATION ISN'T FAVORABLE FOR THE FUTURE.

Laura: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE A HOUSE  AND A WELL THERE, OR WHO ARE PLANNING TO BUILD A HOUSE AND  DRILL A WELL THERE?

Rust: THAT IS ONE OF THE  BIGGEST QUESTIONS I GET WHILE BEING HYDROGEOLOGIST.

A LOT OF PEOPLE CALL ME AND THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE  AQUIFER IS LIKE IN THIS AREA, WHERE IS -- HOW MUCH DOES IT  COST TO PUT IN A WELL AND ALL THESE FACTORS.

THANKFULLY, I OFTEN HAVE FAIRLY GOOD ANSWERS ON WHICH  DIRECTION, YOU KNOW, THE RESTRICTION LEVEL IS GOING IN  A PARTICULAR AREA.

KEEP IN MIND, WHEN YOU TALK  ABOUT TWO-AND-A-HALF TO THREE FEET OF DRAWDOWN PER YEAR,  THAT SOUNDS EXTREME BUT IF YOU HAVE GOT 300 FEET OF WATER  DEPTH IN YOUR WELL, 300 FEET OF ACTUAL CLEARAGE, THOSE  WELLS ARE GOING TO BE GOOD FOR A LONG TIME BUT THEY STILL  WON'T BE GOOD FOREVER.

Laura: WE VISITED FOUR  YEARS AGO WE VISITED A FAMILY THAT HAD A WELL THAT NO LONGER  REACHES WATER.

WHAT DO PEOPLE -- WHEN THIS  HAPPENS, WHEN YOUR GROUNDWATER BECOMES INACCESSIBLE, WHAT  KIND OF OPTIONS DO PEOPLE HAVE?

LIKE WHAT DO PEOPLE DO?

Rust: THAT IS AN EXCELLENT  QUESTION AND UNFORTUNATELY IT IS A LITTLE COMPLICATED.

IT IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN JUST GIVING YOU EXAMPLES.

SO, I SAY, USUALLY, THE ANSWER TO THAT IS A FISCAL SOLUTION.

WHAT YOU SEE AS WATER LEVELS DECLINE, PEOPLE HAVE TO MAKE A  FISCAL CHOICE, EITHER HAUL WATER, WHICH TENDS TO BE VERY  EXPENSIVE AND THEY HAVE TO BUY A BIG STORAGE TANK AND THEY  HAVE A BIG SYSTEM AND THEY HAVE TO HAUL WATER  PERIODICALLY, OR THEY DIG A DEEPER WELL.

AND I THINK WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND IS THAT PEOPLE WITH  THE DEEPEST POCKETS ARE CAPABLE OF DRILLING THE  DEEPEST WELLS.

THAT COULD BE GOOD AND IT  COULD BE BAD.

BUT, WHEN PEOPLE CONVERT TO  HAULING WATER, THEY USUALLY USE A LOT LESS, SO, WHAT I  HAVE SEEN PRELIMINARILY, BY THE WAY, IS THAT AS PEOPLES  WELLS GO DRY, I AM STARTING TO SEE THE AQUIFER STARTING TO  TAPER OUT IN SOME AREAS, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE HAULING  THIS WATER AND IT IS OFTEN NOT COMING FROM THE SANDIA BASIN.

IT IS COMING FROM THE ESTANCIA BASIN, WHICH IS ALREADY OVER  ALLOCATED.

SO WE ARE TRANSFERRING THE WATER NEEDS  FROM ONE BASIN TO ANOTHER AND IT IS ROBBING PETER TO PAY  PAUL, IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT IT THAT WAY.

Laura: AS I REMEMBER, THE ESTANCIA BASIN IS NOT DOING  GREAT IN TERMS OF ITS WATER.

Rust: IT ALSO HAS BEEN OVER  ALLOCATED FOR A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME.

AND DECLINING.

Laura: IS THERE ANYTHING  THAT THE STATE CAN DO OR IS DOING IN TERMS OF GROUNDWATER  LEVELS IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA?

Rust: YES, I AM REALLY GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP.

IN FACT, THE OFFICE OF THE STATE ENGINEER, RECENTLY, HAS  CLOSED THE SANDIA BASIN TO FUTURE APPROPRIATIONS.

WHEN THEY SAY CLOSED, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT DOMESTIC  WELL OWNERS CAN'T GET WELLS.

THEY CAN.

IS IT RESTRICTED, YES.

THEY MAY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF WATER  RIGHT FOR NEW WELL PERMITS FROM, YOU KNOW, AN ACRE FEET  PER YEAR TO 3/4 OF AN ACRE FEET PER YEAR.

WHAT IT MEANS IS WHEN THEY SAY CLOSE THE BASIN TO FUTURE  APPROPRIATIONS, NOBODY IS GOING TO GET 1500 ACRES TO PUT  IN A GOLF COURSE OR 200-ACRE FEET PER YEAR TO START A CAT  FISH FARM OR NOBODY IS GOING TO START A WATER PARK.

AND THE TRUTH IS THE STATE ENGINEER REALIZES THAT THAT  BASIN IS NO LONGER CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING THAT SORT OF  DEVELOPMENT.

Laura: I WAS JUST DRIVING  AROUND THE EAST MOUNTAINS RECENTLY AND IT IS SO BUSY.

LIKE THERE IS A TON OF TRAFFIC UP THERE, LOTS OF HOMES, LOOKS  LIKE THERE IS A LOT OF NEW HOUSES GOING IN.

AND THE TOWN OF EDGEWOOD RECENTLY APPROVED AN AMENDMENT  TO A MASTER PLAN THAT COULD POTENTIALLY MEAN ANOTHER 4,000  HOMES DOWN THE ROAD.

Rust: YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT  CAMPBELL RANCH.

CAMPBELL RANCH IS PRIMARILY  WITHIN THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF BERNALILLO COUNTY.

AND IT IS TRUE THAT THAT IS AN ONGOING DEVELOPMENT AND THE  REASON THEY GOT ANNEXED BY EDGEWOOD WAS PROBABLY BECAUSE  THE RESTRICTIONS ARE LESS.

I HAVE TO BE VERY SENSITIVE  ABOUT WHAT I SAY ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR TOPIC, OTHER THAN  SAYING IT IS A DEVELOPMENT IN GENERAL, BECAUSE THERE WAS  ACTUALLY A LEGAL CONFLICT BETWEEN THE STATE ENGINEER,  CAMPBELL RANCH, AQUIFER SCIENCE AND BERNALILLO COUNTY  WAS INVOLVED AND I WAS INVOLVED IN THAT.

ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT WHOLE PROCESS  WAS ALL THE RESEARCH THAT I HAVE BEEN DOING, ALL THE WATER  LEVELS AT THAT TIME, ALL THE TREND DATA, AND IF I COULD  EXTRAPOLATE, I THINK THE STATE ENGINEER REALIZED FOR THE  FIRST TIME THERE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN THE SANDIA BASIN  AND THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND THEY HAVE.

SO, I, AS A COUNTY EMPLOYEE, I  HAVE TO BE -- I HAVE TO WAGE AND BALANCE DEVELOPMENT WITH  THE REALITIES OF OUR RESOURCES AND WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF  DOING AND THAT IS KIND OF WHAT I DO, BUT, YES, DEVELOPMENT IS  CONTINUING AND HAS CONTINUED AND PROBABLY WILL CONTINUE TO  CONTINUE.

Laura: THAT IS ONE OF THE  THINGS WE SEE IN LOTS OF PLACES, NOT JUST IN THE EAST  MOUNTAINS BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A CONSTRAINT ON WATER  SUPPLIES.

WE KNOW THAT IS LIKELY GOING  TO CONTINUE AND COULD POTENTIALLY WORSEN IN THE  FUTURE BUT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS SEEM LIKE OUR LAND USE  PLANNING AND OUR WATER PLANNING ARE INTERTWINED.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT, LIKE, IF IT IS AND MAYBE HOW WE CAN DO  BETTER?

Rust: I THINK IT IS BUT WE  ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO AGAIN BALANCE DEVELOPMENT WITH THE  PRACTICALITY OF THE RESOURCES AT OUR DISPOSAL.

AND I DO PLAY A PART OF THAT.

IN FACT, EVERY TIME THERE IS A  SUBDIVISION THAT GOES IN, THERE ARE ORDINANCES, THE  SUBDIVISION IN THE PLANNING STAGES HAVE TO PROVE NOT ONLY  IS THERE GROUNDWATER AVAILABLE BUT IT IS ALSO SUSTAINABLE AND  RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE TO PROVE THERE IS WATER RESOURCES FOR  70 YEARS.

THAT IS NOT A SMALL FEAT AND  THEY ALSO HAVE TO PROVE THEY ARE NOT GOING TO INADVERTENTLY  IMPACT EVERYONE ELSE AROUND THEM AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

Laura: PHILLIP RUST, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME  TODAY.

Rust: THANK YOU SO MUCH  LAURA.