Sunbelt water war
The El Paso-New Mexico water conflict
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12006533 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard A Earl (Southwest Texas State University, USA, corresponding author), Robert J Czerniak (New Mexico State University) |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 359-379 |
| Publication date | 1996-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Social Science Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0362-3319 • E-ISSN: 1873-5355 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1016/s0362-3319(96)90012-9 |
| OpenAlex | W2010766192 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 11 |
El Paso, Texas, faced an urban water shortage due to its limited groundwater, rapid population growth, and legal barriers to seemingly accessible water supplies. The cheapest new supplies were Rio Grande surface water or groundwater from New Mexico. Federal reclamation law and New Mexico law that effectively prevents water export led to a bitter confrontation that pitted new Mexico's use of the police power against the federal commerce clause. After an eleven-year legal battle, in 1991, El Paso opted for a compromise resolution with most new water supply (85,000 AF/year) provided by a reduction of transmission losses. Additional supply will be provided by managing upstream reservoir levels to reduce evaporation, reducing per capita use to 160 gpd, increasing use of treated sewage effluent, and purchasing and leasing small parcel water rights. Since making this decision, El Paso has actively pursued this alternative strategy and has a modest, but secure, future water supply
Agricultural economics · Business · Economics · Environmental protection · Geography · Groundwater · Land reclamation · Natural resource economics · Per capita · Population · Water conservation · Water resource management · Water resources · Water supply · Water trading · Engineering · Environmental Science · Mexican Socioeconomic and Environmental Dynamics · Water resources management and optimization · Environmental Engineering
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.27 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2019 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |