Professor David S. Gutzler, a trained meteorologist and now climate scientist at the University of New Mexico, remembers studying the challenge of impending problems of climate change when he was in graduate school. Now, he sees the effects throughout the southwest and the world.
Kicking off the 2018 Lush and Lean Series - hosted by Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) Water Conservation Program – is Dr. Gutzler on Thursday, March 1st. Come to the free workshop to discover what research tells us about climate change and the anticipated future effects on our climate and our water supply, as well as what steps you might take in your daily life to help.
Gutzler explains that one of the most intellectually interesting challenges facing climatologists is how to make accurate projections for stream flow -- water that comes from snow melt in mountains and flows down into streams, rivers, and reservoirs to be used for drinking water and agriculture.
“New Mexico turns out to be a really interesting place to research this,” said Gutzler. “We have the southernmost snowfed river systems in the U.S., so when the weather warms up and the snowpack decreases we will see the diminished effects of snowmelt runoffs here first and stronger than almost anywhere else on the continent.”
Before, historical data combined with precipitation variables could give an accurate assessment of about how much water could be expected every year. Now, with snowpacks diminishing year-to-year predictions become less accurate.
“Two things are at work,” he explained. “First, there is a new relationship between how much snow is seen in the mountains and how it changes over time with warmth. The snow melts earlier than before and there are now evaporation rate changes we have to factor in.”
“The good news is that there is increasing awareness so we can get beyond just gloom and doom scenarios,” Gutzler said. “We have to think: How do we manage a precious resource like water in an intelligent way to keep our quality of life alive.”
“Being water smart matters,” he continued. “We see that municipalities across the west have reduced water usage, we know how to do that when we have to. I remain optimistic, that as we move to an even more arid climate that we will adapt to it to maintain the things we care about.”
The 2018 Lush and Lean Workshops (11 this year) are free and open to the public. They are held Thursday evenings at the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, at 200 E. Picacho Ave., in the Roadrunner Room from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Presentations begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. See the complete list of speakers and Lush and Lean dates at www.las-cruces.org/WaterConservation or www.facebook.com/cityoflascruces.
Submitted by Las Cruces Utilities
You can reach Las Cruces Utilities at 528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Las Cruces Utilities provides GAS – WATER – WASTEWATER – SOLID WASTE services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.