New Mexico Water Resources Research

Institute

MISSION:

* Conduct research on New Mexico water resources problems.

* Train students to become tomorrows water professionals.

* Disseminate results of research.

Presentation made by Dr. Bobby Creel, Associate Director, WRRI to NMSU ChemicalEngineering Seminar on March 16, 2007.

NMSU

WNMU

NMT

UNM

NMHU

ENMU

-- Established in 1963

-- Headquartered at NMSU

-- Funding from: Federal, State, and private sources

-- One of 54 institutes nationwide

-- Member of National Institutes for Water Resources

-- Member of Powell Consortium

Arizona Water Resources Research Center

California Water Resources Center

Colorado Water Resources Research Institute

Nevada Water Resources Center

New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute

Oklahoma Water Research Institute

Texas Water Research Institute

Utah Water Research Laboratory

Wyoming Water Research Program

1. Encourages university faculty to pursue critical areas of water resources research

2. Provides training opportunities for students who will become our future water resources scientists, technicians, and managers

Research Priorities1. Water Conservation, planning and

management

3. Atmospheric-surface-groundwater relationships

4. Water Quality

5. Utilization of Saline and other Impaired Waters

wrri.nmsu.edu/research/researchprogram.html

Research Program RFPs Projects database PI Guidelines

Seed Money Grant Program:Support of small "seed money" projects allows State University faculties to explore and develop research ideas that can attract more substantial outside funding. This is done with the federal base grant (Section 104B of the Water Resources Research Act - [Public Law 98-242 as amended]) and part of the funds provided by the State of New Mexico.

These grants are limited to $30,000 per year and may be up to 3 years in duration. These grants are available to any tenure track faculty member in any department at any of the state's 6 universities (UNM, NMTech, NMSU, NMHU, NMWU, & NMEU).

There were 9 awards made in the 2005-06 program.

Announcement of FY08 FRP expected in early summer.

Current seed projects:

Mitigation of Membrane Biofouling by Harnessing Bacterial Cannibalism New Mexico Tech: Frank Huang, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Snezna Rogelj, Department of Biology

A major problem with treating produced water with membrane separation is that its large-scale implementation has been plagued by the reoccurring biofouling of the membranes and the associated high operating costs. Conventional de-fouling techniques, such as acid and alkaline/detergent cleaning, are generally ineffective. This research looks at using bacteria’s ability to “eat” their neighboring siblings under nutrient-limited conditions and feed on the released nutrients. This “cannibalism” may be used to control membrane biofouling.

A Physically Based Parsimonious Approach for Spatial Disaggregation and Recovery of NEXRAD Precipitation Data in Mountainous TerrainsNew Mexico Tech: John Wilson, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Mountain rains are a major source of fresh water in New Mexico. Characterizing the spatial variability of precipitation is critical for understanding and predicting both natural and human-influenced hydrologic responses, like recharge, runoff, and reservoir releases. NEXRAD radar is used to provide continuous temporal and spatial precipitation data. This study provides a statistical approach to improve the quality of NEXRAD estimation, which will be valuable to water resources managers, water regulators, planners, and decision makers like the Office of the State Engineer and the Interstate Stream Commission.

Current seed projects (continued):

Development of Geospatial Modeling Tools for Watershed-based Water Resources Management in New MexicoNew Mexico Tech: Enrique Vivoni, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Providing decision makers with better forecasts of water supply is the aim of this research that will develop new geospatial modeling tools for managing water supplies in New Mexico using scientific knowledge on climate, surface, and groundwater relations. Although the modeling results are sophisticated, they will be made amenable to water managers via the web in a similar fashion to existing drought maps. The modeling tool is expected to provide detailed simulation capabilities for flood and drought forecasting, estimate runoff, evaporation and aquifer recharge, and simulate

basin water storage and supply.

Predicting Land Use Change and its Effect on Nonpoint Source PollutionUniversity of New Mexico: Jennifer Thacher and Janie Chermak, Department of Economics

This project will provide an economic model of land use change within the Middle Rio Grande basin. The model will be used to predict future land use patterns in the region and to estimate future nonpoint pollution levels. City managers and water quality agencies could use this model for planning purposes.

Current seed projects (continued):

Estimating Water Use Through Satellite Remote SensingNew Mexico State University: Max Bleiweiss and Rhonda Skaggs, College of Agriculture and Home Economics and Zohrab Samani College of Engineering

This project will develop software to provide regional ET maps from the NASA-TERRA satellite. These maps can be used to help schedule irrigation. The maps will also allow for assessing the impact of water conservation policies on a regional basis by measuring water use before and after the implementation of policies. Real time ET maps will be made available to the public thereby allowing farmers to compare the water use of different crops and determine the best irrigation schedule.

Land Application of Industrial Effluent on a Chihuahuan Desert EcosystemNew Mexico State University, John Mexal and Ted Sammis, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture

Using conventional treatment technologies to treat wastewater to a high standard is not always practical, especially in communities that lack the required infrastructure and cannot afford the installation and maintenance. This research looks at land application systems, a biological treatment technology that has low costs and easy management compared to conventional technologies. This project will evaluate a land application system installed at the West Mesa Industrial Park near the city of Las Cruces.

Current seed projects (continued):

Solar Desalination of Brackish Water Using Membrane Distillation Process

New Mexico State University: Shuguang Deng, Department of Chemical Engineering

This project is evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of a solar evaporative desalination process that uses membrane distillation technology. Membrane distillation is a relatively new process that is being looked at worldwide as a low cost, energy saving alternative to conventional separation processes such as distillation and reverse osmosis. The technology uses a porous hydrophobic membrane that excludes liquid from the pores but not vapors. The process can be operated at a lower temperature than regular thermal distillation. This process could be powered with New Mexico’s solar energy.

Sustainable Recovery of Potable Water from Saline WatersNew Mexico State University: Nirmala Khandan, Department of Civil and Geological Engineering

This project is developing a solar-powered desalination system and will conduct pilot scale studies on the system. The approach has the potential for wider applications in reclaiming high quality water from wastewaters and industrial side streams such as produced waters from oil fields. An advantage to this approach is that it does not consume nonrenewable energy resources, reduces reliance on energy imports, and is not harmful to the environment.

Current seed projects (continued):

Utilization of Saline and Other Impaired Waters for Turfgrass IrrigationNew Mexico State University: Bernd Leinauer, Department of Extension Plant Sciences and Ryan Goss, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture

This project looks at trying to make use of the vast amount of brackish water in New Mexico by determining if saline and other impaired waters can be utilized for turf irrigation. New and improved salt tolerant warm season grasses have made the prospect of using these grasses in conjunction with saline irrigation water quite promising. These grasses are now being tested for their combined cold hardiness and salt tolerance under harsh high altitude climate conditions.

NMWRRI initiated a student research grant program in FY 2003. This initial grant program was made possible by an increase in state appropriations and resulted in the award of 12 grants to students in the state's universities. These grants were limited to $5,000 and 1 year. These student research grants are available to any full-time graduate or undergraduate student in any degree program at any of the state's 6 universities.

Jesus Q. Cantu, Department of Physics (advisor: Jacob Urquidi), New Mexico State University, Characterization of Heavy Metal Binding by Functional Groups Found in Biomaterials

Ryan McShane, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences (advisor: David Cowley), New Mexico State University, Community and Ecosystem Effects of a Nonnative Fish in Refugia in an Intermittent Stream: Implications for Native Fish Restoration

Kristin Swaim, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences (advisor: Wiebke J. Boeing), New Mexico State University, Relating Fish Abundance and Condition to Environmental Factors in Desert Sinkholes

David J. VanHorn, Department of Biology (advisor: Clifford Dahm), University of New Mexico, The Effects of Eutrophication on the Structure and Function of Stream Biofilms

Matthew F. Kirk, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (advisor: Laura Crossey), University of New Mexico, Experimental and Numerical Modeling Analysis of Arsenic-sulfide Precipitation in Groundwater Environments

Student Research Grants (continued):

Irene M. Roselli, Department of Biology (advisor: Marvin M.F. Lutnesky), Eastern New Mexico University, The Influence of Predator Detection on Life History Strategies in DAPHNIA

Nicole M. Harings, Department of Biology, (advisor: Marvin M.F. Lutnesky), Eastern New Mexico University, The Influence of Larval Culiseta sp. (Diptera: Culicidae) on Behavior and Growth Rate of Tadpole Shrimp Triops longicaudatus (LeConte) (Notostraca: Triopsidae)

Chemanji Shu-Nyamboli and Joel Lowry, Department of Natural Sciences (advisor: Edward A. Martinez), New Mexico Highlands University,Determination of Heavy Metal Distribution in the Gallinas River Using Aquatic Macrophytes

Carlos R. Herrera, Department of Natural Sciences (advisor: Michael L. Meyer), New Mexico Highlands University, Uranium and Heavy Metals in Macroinvertebrates in the Santa Fe River on the Cochiti Reservation

Marty D. Frisbee, Department of Earth and Environmental Science (advisor: Fred Phillips), New Mexico Tech, Runoff Processes and the Evolution of Water Chemistry in the Saguache Creek Watershed of the Upper Rio Grande

Student Research Grants (continued):

Taufique Mahmood, Department of Earth and Environmental Science (advisor: Enrique Vivoni), New Mexico Tech, Use of Remotely Sensed Observations for Improved Distributed Hydrological Modeling in the Jemez River Basin

Katrina Koski, Department of Earth and Environmental Science (advisor: Penelope J. Boston), New Mexico Tech, Multi-disciplinary Analysis of a New Mexico Cold Water Tufa Spring Mound

During the last three decades, WRRI has:

1. Administered over 300 research and educational projects, funded from federal, state, local and privates sources, led by approximately 250 investigators statewide.

2. These research projects have resulted in publication of over 337 technical reports.

3. Provides an outlet for transferring research findings and other related information to keep water managers and the general public apprised of new technology and research advances.

4. Maintains a unique infrastructure that links it with many federal, state, regional, and local entities to provide expertise and specialized assistance.

Publication seriesTechnical reports:

Water Conference Proceedings:

Miscellaneous reports:

Other reports:

Newsletter:

Conferences & Symposia

Facilities

A reference room located at WRRI includes over 10,000 books, technical reports, periodicals and maps.

A Geographic Information System (GIS) laboratory for water resources data.

web servers:http://wrri.nmsu.edu/ -- Gateway to NMWRRI information and data.

http://river.nmsu.edu/ -- NMWRRI GIS Laboratory projects http://water.nmsu.edu/ -- Internet Map server for the New Mexico

Rio Grande Basin Initiative