Hell or High Water: The Middle Rio Grande Water Challenge

"When the Europeans came to America they prized land and minerals; they laughed because we worshipped water," says one of the Navajos interviewed for this two part series, narrated by Edward James Olmos, which examines the many issues surrounding water rights in the burgeoning arid environment of New Mexico, where small towns and cities alike are struggling to cope with water shortages and exploding population growth. The Rio Grande Compact, an agreement established in the late 1930s, requires New Mexico to deliver a certain amount of surface water to Texas and Mexico regardless of the weather or water supplies, but new suburban development is already threatening the water supply for indigenous farmers and ranchers as well as small town residents who rely on a high water table to keep their wells from running dry. In addition, increased water use impacts the health of the Rio Grande river, threatening plant life as well as endangered species, while also impinging on Native American water rights. Although this program focuses on New Mexico, the issues surrounding water use relate to all the states in the intermountain West. Raising serious questions that need to be addressed in strategic planning for growth and preservation of the environment, this is highly recommended for regional libraries. Aud: C, P. (L. Stevens)