A combination of increasing demand for water and four years of severe drought have caused groundwater levels in the Upper Rio Grande Basin in Colorado, New Mexico and Far West Texas to drop as much as 200 feet through the years, reports Southwest Farm Press.
A water expert at New Mexico State University (NMSU) warns those levels are just the tip of the iceberg as a sluggish recharge of the river, combined with increased groundwater pumping in the years ahead, will create worse shortages in the near future.
The real big deal is going to be the change in the intensity of pumping, said Brian Hurd, an agricultural economics professor and president of the NMSU Council on Water Resources.
The threat of coming water shortages represents a serious problem for farmers along the entire basin region.