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Toward a Better Understanding of Albuquerque’s Natural Resource: Water
Maureen Senetra
Outline
4. Topic outline
- Albuquerque’s water, where it comes from
- Physical and chemical properties of water
- Water cycle
- Surface water
- Wetlands
- Groundwater
- Water usage
- Water pollution
- Water treatment
- Water conservation
Purpose
This unit is intended for use in a middle school as an overview of the topic of water in the Albuquerque area in the hopes that today’s students will begin to treasure and conserve our natural resources. The unit will begin with a general discussion of water, where it comes from, the water cycle, physical and chemical properties of water, and then move into the specifics of the source of Albuquerque’s water, usage, pollution, treatment, and conservation. I anticipate this curriculum unit to take approximately three (3) weeks.
Student Objectives
It is hoped that the student will come to an awareness of, appreciation for, and realization that water:
Assessment
Since assessment is a necessary part of teaching, I am going to suggest three methods
that I have found successful in reaching the middle school student. The first one would be
to have the student make a portfolio in which could be included a day-to-day journal, the
activities, drawings of their own, (or sketches that you provide), and a summary of their
study of water. The second method would be to have the students conduct research
concerning current legislation regarding water, and have them follow the bill through to a
vote. The student will list the pros and cons, contacting their legislatures, writing
letters, in general, getting involved. This will hopefully show them that community action
does make a difference. The third method of assessment would require some sort of a
working project that would encompass other talents that a student may have that do not
necessarily revolve around being a straight-A science student. I am thinking of the following: an art project; a poetry project; an essay; constructing a
portion of the Rio Grande River bottom. These are projects that would allow the student to
showcase their talents in a different manner and yet still be meaningful to the study of
water. Of course, you can always rely on the paper and pencil test to assess memorized
material, or rather how well the student retained those materials taught. The most
reliable form of assessment would be your observations of the students during the activity
periods; during brainstorming sessions and, during simple oral question-and-answer
sessions. Since a teacher knows his/her students best, this may be the preferred method.
Introduction
Pure water is clean, colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Water is life giving, and life threatening. Water covers about 70% of the Earth’s surface and makes up about 75% of our body weight; 90% of a cactus is water. Water is used to bathe in, to play in, cook with, and drink. We assume it will always be there. Will it? Where did it come from? How do we use or misuse it? Can we make more? Will there be enough for my children? These are some of the issues I hope to address in this unit.
Where did it come from?
Scientists now believe that Earth began as a solid by-product of the formation of the sun, a star, about four and a half (4.5) billion years ago. The sun left dust and gas which gravitated together to form the rest of our solar system. This is known as the nebular hypothesis of the origin of the solar system.1 When all of the debris (meteorites) in Earth’s gravitational sphere coalesced, more or less, into the Earth and its moon, the Earth began to heat up. We know on the basis of the study of volcanic processes that the gases in magma came out of Earth’s mantle, forming the early planet’s atmosphere. These gases contained water vapor. As the Earth cooled, the water vapor condensed and fell to the surface of the Earth, accumulating in the depressions that eventually became the oceans. These oceans were probably formed after the early period of meteor bombardment ceased.
The ancients believed that matter was made up of only four elements: Earth, air, wind, and fire, and that everything in the world was composed of these four substances in some proportion or other. It wasn’t until 1781 that Joseph Priestly made water by combining two gases, hydrogen and oxygen. This was a discovery that changed the way the world viewed water, and other materials, ultimately resulting in the recognition that they consisted of elements, molecules, and compounds. It is this discovery that we shall begin to examine in this lesson.
We know that water was formed by a volcanic process releasing water vapor that then settled in depressions, known as oceans. Let us examine what water is.
What exactly is water? Some physical and chemical properties.
To form a molecule of water, two atoms of hydrogen and an atom of oxygen fill their electron orbits by sharing electrons. Each hydrogen atom, with one electron spinning around its nucleus, needs one more electron to become stable. The larger oxygen atom, with six electrons in its outer shell, needs two more electrons to fill its orbit. When the three unstable atoms pool their electrons, the result is a stable molecule of water.
Each molecule of water (and billions of them can occur on a pinhead) contains a tiny amount of heat. This heat is enough to set the molecules in a state of constant motion. An increase of heat, as in summer weather, causes these water molecules to move faster; a decrease in heat, think winter weather, causes these molecules to slow down a bit. As long as these molecules maintain a constant motion, we have liquid water. If, however, some of these molecules break away, and escape, they change to water vapor (a gas). These molecules move freely and are not close-knit as molecules in a liquid. Ice, on the other hand, forms with a decrease in temperature, and a decrease in the energy of the molecules. These molecules vibrate but cannot move about freely. Instead, they form a strong attraction for one another and mold themselves into a definite crystalline shape through the formation of chemical bonds.
Water molecules are attracted to other substances besides other water molecules, or how else would blood flow through our bodies? How would plants get nutrients? This attraction of water molecules to other water molecules is called cohesion. The attraction of water molecules to other substances is called adhesion. We will look at these two properties more closely in an activity where you can actually see this occurring.
So, now that we know what water is, how does it get from the sky to the earth, and from the earth to the sky?
The Water Cycle
A little background information first. About 70% of Earth is covered by water, most of it in oceans. No new water is available. The water we use today is the same water that has been used for millions of years. That makes water a vital, non-renewable resource, that must be used over and over again. Water moves from one place to another in a large, complex system called the water cycle.
The sun heats up water in the oceans, causing water vapor to form and move, rising with air that is also warmed. As this air rises, it cools causing the vapor to change back to a liquid, which condenses into tiny droplets. These droplets are then carried by the atmosphere with the wind. They gather and grow into clouds, becoming larger and heavier, until they fall from the sky in the form of precipitation such as rain, hail, or snow. About 75% of this precipitation falls back into the oceans; the rest comes down on land.
The water falling on land drains into rivers and lakes, or sinks into the ground. When the ground is saturated by torrential downpours, or when snow melts rapidly, water becomes runoff. Runoff is water that flows across earth’s surface. Water that does not run off seeps into the Earth’s surface by the process of infiltration and percolation. Eventually, this groundwater flows underground, until it is discharged into creeks and streams that flow into small rivers. Small rivers join larger rivers flowing toward the sea. Thus, slowly, the cycle is completed by the evaporation of water back into the atmosphere, only to begin the cycle again. (Plants absorb about 6% of water from the soil, and release part of it through the surface of their leaves by a process called transpiration.)
Surprisingly, only about 25% of raindrops from clouds ever reach land. The rest fall back into the oceans, helping to maintain the balance between evaporation and condensation, and preventing the oceans from becoming saltier. This, then, is the water cycle, a never ending movement of water molecules travelling thousands of miles just to help keep balance on Earth!
So, the water cycle has neither a beginning nor an end. A drop of water will
continually be in motion somewhere in this cycle. This one drop of water may, however, change its form or state, from a gas (water vapor, clouds), to a
liquid (rain, rivers), to a solid (ice, ice caps, hail).
Where does our water in Albuquerque come from?
The Rio Grande River has its source in the mountains of Southern Colorado. In all, it travels over 2,000 miles from its source, Southern Colorado along the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains, to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico, near Brownsville, Texas. A 100 mile stretch of the river between White Rock Canyon, just north of Cochiti Lake, and Socorro County in Central New Mexico is known as the Middle Rio Grande Valley. This broad valley is surrounded by mountains to the east; plateaus, and mesas to the west. This area is what we shall refer to as the Middle Rio Grande Valley, and the area we are most interested in for our studies. This Middle Rio Grande Valley encompasses four New Mexico counties (Sandoval, Bernalillo, Valencia, and Socorro) and six Indian Pueblos (Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Sandia, and Isleta). Other land and facility managers would include the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, US Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico State Parks and Recreation Division, City of Albuquerque, and private landowners.2
The varied landforms of the middle Rio Grande have been created by a variety of natural geologic processes. White Rock Canyon, to the north, was formed by the waters of the Rio Grande eroding, or wearing down, a hard rock layer called basalt (a type of lava). Also to the north, the Jemez Mountains were formed by large ancient volcanic eruptions with many explosions of rock and ash. The Sandia Mountains, to the east, were formed by an uplifting of the earth’s crust caused by stretching deep in the earth’s crust. Albuquerque’s volcanoes, located on the West Mesa, are small volcanic craters with lava flows around their bases that flowed down into the Rio Grande Valley. This valley filled with gravel, sand, clay, and silt carried from higher ground by the force of the running water.
Historically, the river itself attracted settlement because of its life-giving resource, water. Earliest man, hunters and gatherers, settled by the river until resources such as wood and wildlife were depleted, and they moved on to more fertile ground. This type of land and water usage had little detrimental effect on the river. Spanish speaking peoples settled in the middle Rio Grande and have been here ever since, hunting and farming. In the early 1800’s, English speaking peoples came over the Santa Fe Trail, probably to trade with the Spanish and Native Americans. Some of these people settled in the valley, and again there was no real harm done to the land and water. It wasn’t until the late 1800’s, and the advent of the Industrial Revolution, that the river looked better than ever as a dumping ground for toxins. Think why this is important for us.
Looking at a picture of the Rio Grande River Valley, you can tell that water from
precipitation (rain or snow) would naturally fall to the lowest point, which would be the
river. In the case of a torrential downpour, this precipitation will seep into the ground
eventually finding its way to the aquifer. An aquifer is any underground rock formation
that will yield water to a well or spring. While some aquifers are able to store more
water than others, this is solely dependent on the structure and qualities of the rock.
For instance, porous, fractured, or loosely cemented rock is more sponge-like then hard
rock with few fractures and therefore will hold more water. The aquifer is our source of
drinking water, so it’s not difficult to see why we do not want to dump toxins in our
sole source of water! As a rule, our water supply is of such good natural chemical quality
that very little treatment is necessary for safe usage.
Surface Water
New Mexico has very little surface water. Surface water is water above the land. New Mexico is the third driest state in the United States. Because of our drier, warmer climate, only about 3% of the precipitation that falls over New Mexico is used by us; the other 97% is evaporated.3 This should make you think about surface water because in 3 to 4 years, the city of Albuquerque is going to begin using surface water for drinking water. Every drop of this water will have to be treated and pumped, making for very expensive water. Surface water is also important for the survival of plants and animals that populate the wetlands. Wetlands are areas adjacent to streams and rivers. They are rich in their soil type, providing food and shelter for a variety of plants and animals that are already on the verge of extinction due to the over use of irrigation canals and dams. Wetlands can help minimize the effects of flooding because they are able to absorb and hold more water. They also act as filters for certain pollutants.
Groundwater
Groundwater is any water at or below the water table. The water table is the uppermost extent of groundwater. If you think of a glass of water being filled to the very top, that very top is the water table; anything under the water table could be considered groundwater. Groundwater moves very slowly, remember it is held in spaces within rock and soil. Because groundwater moves so slowly, pollutants are not easily removed, and so may stay in the water for years. Since Albuquerque uses, at present, only groundwater, we must be very careful to not pollute this water because we do not have another source of water, and cannot survive without water.
Water Usage
Run through a typical day at your house and try to list all of the times you use water and why. You flush the toilet, shower, brush your teeth, drink, wash clothes and dishes, feed pets, water the lawn, and a host of other activities that include the use of water, never mind how many times a day you wash your hands. Often, these same activities are repeated by other family members. Consider that the average shower uses 5 gallons per minute! Multiply the length of your shower by the number of people in your household and you will have an idea of how we assume that there will always be enough water for our usage. The city of Albuquerque estimates that a family of four cooking three meals, washing dishes, bathing and flushing the toilet will use about 180-250 gallon of water a day. Typically, the summer months of June, July, August, and to a lesser extent, September, are peak water usage months. The reason is that students are out of school for the summer, home all day, using water; swimming pools are being filled up; hot, sweaty bodies mean more showers; more showers mean more clothes to wash. It is a never-ending cycle.
Household use of water is only one type of water usage. Because New Mexico has a large agricultural community, a large proportion of our available water is used for irrigation. We are all familiar with the acequias, and ditch irrigation. Some other agricultural uses for water would include livestock, fish and wildlife, recreation, and, while not agricultural, electrical power generation is an enormous user of water.
The city of Albuquerque owns, operates, and maintains 92 wells that are anywhere from
400’ deep to 1500’ deep.4 They pump water (groundwater ) from the
wells into a series of reservoirs until it is needed. From the reservoirs, water then is
pumped to treatment plants where dirt or sediment is removed and, usually, chlorine is
added to kill bacteria, then flouride is added to help keep our teeth healthy. After
treatment, the water is ready to be pumped to homes and businesses around the city by a
series of underground pipes; so that when you turn on your tap, you have water.
Water Pollution
Pollution and contamination are used interchangeably to indicate that there has been a change in the quality of our water, usually from man made sources. As a rule, we do not give a second thought to pollution as we carry on our household chores, yet many of the activities associated with running a household involve the use of pollutants. These pollutants are known as HHW for household hazardous wastes. Some examples of these HHW’s are paint left in the bottom of the can, paint thinner, floor polish, mothballs, used motor oil, and pesticides, almost all drain uncloggers, oven cleaner, even bleach. Some of these products can be disposed of without harming the environment, by simply flushing them down the drain with plenty of water.
Households with septic tanks, and they are in the majority in New Mexico, represent a real threat to water quality. In a standard septic tank system, liquid wastes from drains and toilets flow into a large underground storage tank. Oils will float to the top, while solids will settle to the bottom of the tank. Over time a series of perforated pipes carries this waste from the tank to a large drainfield. Water may slowly seep downward from the perforated pipes into the soil, or evaporate from the soil. Eventually, this water reaches the groundwater. One solution is, of course, to have your septic tank pumped out yearly. Other reasons for septic tank pollution problems could stem from the fact that there are simply too many tanks too close together in a single neighborhood. These drainfields need space to operate correctly. A shallow water table, like those found in the valley communities of the Rio Grande River, will cause liquid wastes to reach the ground water before the soil has had a chance to properly filter these wastes. Of course, any household hazardous waste poured down the drain has the probability of becoming a contaminant.
We generally think of agricultural activities as being fairly benign, but they do have the potential to pollute and degrade water quality in several ways. First, when irrigation water evaporates from fields, many naturally occurring minerals and salts may remain. Over time the build-up may reach hazardous levels and plants may die. Of course, we are all aware of the pollution associated with animal waste. These wastes can, with flooding or enough precipitation, seep into the ground water leading to high levels of toxins in the water. Lastly, pesticides and fertilizers that are used to promote crop growth can cause water pollution when rainwater and irrigation water carry these substances into surface streams.
Mining can be another source of water pollution as large slag heaps have the potential to leach toxins into the ground given enough precipitation. Coal and uranium have both been mined in the Middle Rio Grande area, but none of these mines is in operation at this date.
Logging is another source of water pollution in the Middle Rio Grande. Logging has the additional distinction of disturbing the land, removing the protective canopy of trees leaving the soil prone to erosion. This soil, sand, clay, silt, and minerals wash from the exposed areas of newly logged trees into streams and rivers, harming fish, and causing the streams and reservoirs to be dredged.
We would be remiss if we did not mention the human element in the area of water pollution. In this desert climate, any body of water has an immediate appeal for recreational usage. However, the very things that we love, swimming, boating, fishing, camping, can be potentially damaging to water quality. While we are enjoying the great outdoors, we need to be mindful that we are treading on some other critter’s home and environment. We need to remember to contain litter; watch where we are walking and hiking; do all washing away from streams and rivers; don’t litter; and, follow proper sanitation procedures.
One enormous source of pollution in the past has been underground storage tanks, such
as those used at gasoline stations. After a certain amount of time, the tanks develop
weaknesses along seam lines, and begin to leak. If, again, enough precipitation falls, it
will carry the leakage to the underground waters and pollution occurs. In the past several
years gas stations have been required to have their underground storage tanks inspected
and replaced if they were found to be leaking. This turned out to be a very costly project
for the owners, but necessary to stay in business.
Water Treatment
Albuquerque has a community wastewater treatment system for those households on the sewer system. This wastewater treatment plant is located on Second Street just south of Rio Bravo. Just as freshwater gets to homes in the city by a series of wells, pumps, reservoirs and more pumps and pipes to your home, so the process is reversed when carrying wastewater away from your home. Used water is carried by a series of pipes towards the treatment plant. When this water arrives at the plant, it passes through a series of bar screens that catch and remove large solids. This trash is collected and taken to the landfill for disposal. Next, the wastewater moves to the grit channel where gravel, sand, and even coffee grounds settle to the bottom and, again are removed for disposal. The wastewater then slows into a settling tank. As water flows into this tank, much like a septic system, heavy particles settle to the bottom and oil floats up to the top. Both the top and bottom are removed leaving the water relatively free of large particles and ready for the secondary treatment.
Secondary treatment of wastewater relies heavily on biological and chemical processes to clean the water. In an aeration basin, air is pumped into the water. This extra oxygen promotes the growth of microorganisms, which are naturally occurring in used water, that eat most of the remaining waste material in the water. The wastewater then flows into a final clarification tank where the now old and fat microorganisms fall to the bottom and are removed. This water is basically clean, now. The last step is to add a small amount of chlorine to the water for disinfection. This process takes about 24 hours, and then the water is ready to flow into the Rio Grande. Albuquerque treats about 50 million gallons of water this way every day.5 Of course water samples are taken at every step of this process to assure the population of clean, safe, water.
Now you have seen that supplying water to households and removing household wastes, while mostly taken for granted is not a simple matter. We are fortunate to have indoor plumbing and water that comes into your house via the tap (and miles of pipe). Click on www.epa.gov/OGWDW/kids/treat.html6 for more information.
The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 is the federal law that provides for the regulation
of drinking water quality. The State of New Mexico adheres to these federal regulations,
also, and in some cases their ordinances are much more stringent than federal law. Thus
far, Albuquerque’s public water system has maintained a perfect record in meeting the
requirements of these laws. This has been no easy task considering that the city of
Albuquerque has and maintains 2,400 miles of water pipeline and 10,500 fire hydrants, plus
92 wells that pump somewhere around 110 million gallons of water per day, reservoirs,
pumping stations, waste water treatment plants, and landfills. A phone call to the water
department will yield much information!
Water Conservation
This all sounds like very serious business, and it is, but there are ways you can help out. People always think that they are pretty helpless when it comes to government regulated agencies, but I think you will find that community action pays off, and you can do it. You already know from our studies where your water comes from, how much there is of it, and certainly where the water goes after you use it. You can begin your community action by contacting the Albuquerque Water Department, ask them how you can map your watershed. They may have maps and other information that they will be willing to send to you, or perhaps you could arrange to have a parent/guardian pick them up for you. We have learned that we have private wells and also public utility system that delivers water to our homes and businesses. Since you get your drinking water from the local watershed, it is important to understand the source of your drinking water.
Once you have your watershed mapped out, you need to draw a map of your neighborhood, include the locations of the wells and reservoirs nearest you. Mark the wastewater treatment plant nearest you. Look at the topography; is that treatment plant location downhill? Remember that water will have a gravitational pull to a low point.
Decide where your greatest area of interest is, and make a plan to enlist your friends and neighbors in your effort to educate about water. You should be asking these people why water conservation is necessary. Are you interested in water quality in our environment? Drinking water quality? Or are you interested in educating your friends and neighbors about water? Enlist the help of an expert; talk it up at a public meeting. If you have your facts straight, everyone will sit up and listen. And above all, practice what you preach. Conserve.
We haven’t discussed water rights in New Mexico, and this can be a very touchy subject as those of you who have property in southern New Mexico, or Mexico, already know. A water right allows a person, group, or community to use a specified amount of water. This right does not imply ownership of the water. The history of water rights, goes back to settlement and land ownership. It used to be that if you owned land adjoining a water source, then you had a right to use that water however you saw fit. Today, landowners must prove that their use is reasonable, and also that landowners down stream have water to use.
This does not pose a problem east of the Mississippi where rainfall is plentiful, but in the western states, people have been known to kill over water rights. While that is not the prevalent attitude today, hard feelings exist over water usage. We do have a Prior Appropriation Doctrine regulating water in the West. It basically states, "first come, first served." As technology has advanced, so has the need for water, especially for hydroelectric generation plants, industries, and there is a growing concern for that rapidly expanding recreation industry.
It is a fervent hope that you have learned a great deal about water as a natural
resource, and that you will be involved in community issues involving water uses. Your
entire environment will undergo drastic change without sufficient water resources, and I
hope that this is understood now. I hope you will be good caretakers of the Earth.
Endnotes
Student Vocabulary List
Acequias. Irrigation channels carrying water to farms, fields, and neighborhoods.
Adhesion. The attraction of water molecules to other materials as a result of
hydrogen bonding.
Aquifer. An underground bed of saturated soil or rock that yields significant
quantities of water.
Capillary action. The means by which water is drown through tiny spaces in a
material, such as soil, through the processes of adhesion and cohesion.
Cohesion. The attraction of water molecules to each other as a result of hydrogen
bonding.
Condensation. The process by which a vapor becomes a liquid; the opposite of
evaporation.
Conservation. The use of water-saving methods to reduce the amount of water needed
for homes, lawns, farming, and industry, and thus increasing water supplies for optimum
benefits.
Contaminant. Any substance that when added to water (of another substance) makes it
impure and unfit for consumption or use.
Depletion. The loss of water from surface water reservoirs or ground water aquifers
at a rate greater than that of recharge.
Direct water uses. Uses of water that are apparent (e.g., washing, cooking,
bathing).
Discharge. An outflow of water from a stream, pipe, ground water system, watershed.
Downstream. In the direction of a stream’s current; in relation to water
rights, refers to water used or locations that are affected by upstream uses or locations.
Floodplain. Any normally dry land area that is susceptible to being inundated by
water from any natural source; usually lowland adjacent to a stream or lake.
Fresh water. Water with less than 0.5 parts per thousand dissolved salts.
Ground water. Water found in spaces between soil particles underground (located in
the zone of saturation).
Hydrology. The study of Earth’s waters, including water’s properties,
circulation, principles, and distribution.
Impermeable layer. A layer of material, like clay, in an aquifer through which
water does not pass.
Indirect water uses. Uses of water that are not immediately apparent to the
consumer. An example would be driving a car because water was used in the production
process of steel and other parts of the vehicle
Irrigation. The controlled application of water to cropland, hay fields, and/or
pasture to supplement that supplied by nature.
Municipal water system. A network of pipes, pumps, and storage and treatment
designed to deliver potable water to homes, schools, businesses, and facilities to other
users in a city or town and to remove and treat waste materials.
Nonpoint source pollution. Widespread overland runoff containing pollutants; the
contamination does not originate from one specific location, and pollution discharges over
a wide land area.
Permeable. Capable of transmitting water (e.g., porous rock, sediment, or soil).
Plume. A continuous emission from a point source of contamination that has a
starting point and a noticeable pathway.
Point source pollution. Pollutants discharged from any identifiable point,
including pipes, ditches, channels, sewers, tunnels, and containers of various types.
Pollution. An alteration in the character or quality of the environment, or any of
its components, that renders it less suited for certain uses. The alteration of the
physical, chemical, or biological properties of water by the introduction of any substance
that renders the water harmful to use.
Precipitation. Water falling, in a liquid or solid state, from the atmosphere to
Earth.
Respiration. The act or process by which an organism exchanges gases with its
environment; in animals with lungs, the process of inhaling and exhaling, or breathing.
Cellular respiration involves the release of energy from food through chemical reactions.
Riparian areas. Land areas directly influenced by a body of water, usually have
visible vegetation or other physical characteristics showing this water influence. Stream
banks, lake borders, and marshes are typical riparian areas.
Runoff. Precipitation that flows overland to surface streams, rivers, and lakes.
Sediment. Fragmented organic or inorganic material derived from the weathering of
soil, alluvial, and rock materials; removed by erosion and transported by water, wind,
ice, and gravity.
Solid. The state of water in which molecules have limited movement.
Storm drain. Constructed opening in a road system through which runoff from the
road surface flown into an underground sewer.
Stream. Any body of running water moving under gravity’s influence through
clearly defined natural channels to progressively lower levels.
Surface tension. The attraction among water molecules at the surface of a liquid;
creates a skin-like barrier between air and underlying molecules.
Surface water. Water above the surface of the land, including lakes, rivers,
streams, ponds, floodwater, and runoff.
Transpiration. The process by which water absorbed by plants (usually through the
roots) is evaporated into the atmosphere from the plant surface (principally
from the leaves).
Wastewater. Water that contains unwanted materials from homes, businesses, and
industries; a mixture of water and dissolved or suspended substances.
Wastewater treatment. Any of the mechanical or chemical processes used to modify
the quality of wastewater in order to make it more compatible or accept-able to humans and
the environment.
Water. An odorless, tasteless, colorless liquid made up of a combination of
hydrogen and oxygen. Water forms streams, lakes, and seas, and is a major constituent of
all living things.
Water cycle. The path water takes through its various states – vapor, liquid,
solid, as it moves throughout Earth’s systems.
Water molecule. The smallest unit of water, consists of two hydrogen atoms and one
oxygen atom.
Water related issue. An environmental problem involving water that is complicated
by the disagreement of two or more parties over the cause, effect, and/or resolution of
the problem.
Water resource management. The decision making, manipulative, and non-manipulative
processes by which water is protected, allocated, or developed.
Water right. A legal right to use a specified amount of water for beneficial
purposes.
Watershed. The land area from which surface runoff drains into a stream, channel,
lake, reservoir, or other body of water.
Water table. Indicates the level below which soil and rock are saturated with
water.
Water treatment plants. Facilities that treat water to remove contaminants so that
it can be safely used.
Student Bibliography
Cole, Joanna, The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks, Scholastic, 1987. Ms. Fizzle takes her students on a fieldtrip to the waterworks.
Gunston, Bill, Water, Silver, Burdett & Ginn, Inc., 1982. Water experiments. Talks about water.
Locker, Thomas, Where the River Begins, Dial Books, 1984. Two young boys go on a camping trip to find source of the river that flows by their house.
Schmid, Eleonore, The Water’s Journey, North-South Books, 1990. Explains the water cycle.
Research Materials/Teacher Bibliography
Albuquerque’s Environmental Story: Toward a Sustainable Community, Hy and Joan
Rosner, Cottonwood Printing Company, 1996.
General information on Albuquerque’s growth and environment. Includes some
activities.
Arid Lands, Sacred Waters, Student Activity Packet, Marne Potter, Caitlyn Howell,
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S.D.A.
Forest Service, 1992.
Discusses the importance of the Rio Grande River for a sustainable environment. Includes
some activities.
Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Manuel C. Molles, Jr., McGraw-Hill, 1999.
Covers a broad range of ecology topics.
Environmental Geology, An Earth System Science Approach, Dorothy Merrits, Andrew
DeWet, Kirsten Menking, W.H. Freeman and Company, 1997.
A unique perspective of the earth as a total system, easy to read.
Give Water a Hand, Community Site Action Guide, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Community action guide, complete with activities.
Project WET, Curriculum and Activity Guide, by the Watercourse at Montana State
University and the Council for Environmental Education, Houston, Texas, 1996.
A wonderful book full of interesting activities laid out for the educator, includes
additional resources, goals, assessments.
Water Resources of the Middle Rio Grande Area, prepared by Middle Rio Grande
Council of Governments of New Mexico, 1991.
Easy to understand discussion of the Rio Grande River and its environs.
Other Resources
Geological Survey Department of the Interior
Water Resources Division
4501 Indian School Road NE
Ste. 200
Albuquerque, NM 87110-3929
262-5300
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District
1931 Second Street SW
Albuquerque, NM 87102 247-0234
Natural Resources Conservation Service
US Department of Agriculture
6200 Jefferson NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109
761-4400
NM Department of Game and Fish
Albuquerque Area Office
3841 Midway Place
Albuquerque, NM 87109
841-8881
NM Museum of Natural History and Science
1801 Mountain Road NW
841-2800 for information
Albuquerque NM 87104
841-2872 to book school tours
281-5259
Sandia Mountain National History Center
Public Works Department Water Resources Management
City of Albuquerque
PO Box 1293
Albuquerque NM 87103
768-3634
Environmental Department
State of New Mexico
PO Box 26110
Santa Fe, NM 87502
1-800-219-6157
841-9450 in Albuquerque
Drinking Water 505-827-7536
Ground Water Quality 505-827-2918
Surface Water Quality 505-827-0187
Water and Waste Management 505-827-2834
Internet
http://www.usgs.gov/
www.cnie.org
http://water.usgs.gov/droplet
http://usgs.gov/education
http://water.usgs.gov/public/wateruse
http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/kids/treat.html
Videos
Desert Waters, can be ordered from:
Bryan Swain
WERC
NM State University
PO Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
505-646-2038
Before the Well Runs Dry, can be ordered from:
Public Works Department
City of Albuquerque
PO Box 1293
Albuquerque, NM 87103
768-3634