Law Professor Co-Authors Book on Underground Water Storage

Law Professor Denise Fort is one of the co-authors of the recent “Prospects for Managed Underground Storage of Recoverable Water,” a book released by the National Research Council of the National Academies. With a strong background in water quality, groundwater, and water and natural resources, Fort was asked to join the panel of experts preparing the book. She collaborated on a chapter examining the legal and economic quandaries regarding how various jurisdictions determine whether a project to store underground water is viable.

Photo: Denise Fort

“Groundwater storage is especially attractive in New Mexico because our reservoirs lose so much water to evaporation,” Fort said. “This is also of interest to jurisdictions for which recycling could be cheaper than finding new water supplies.”

The book evaluates issues involved with storing water in groundwater aquifers for the purpose of later recovery. The stored water is often water that has been used, such as treated sewage effluent, which raises additional questions about water treatment before storage and after withdrawal. Research priorities for development of future underground storage projects are also identified in the book.

“Periodic droughts, changing land use, rising temperatures, over-allocation of rivers, over-drafting of aquifers (underground water reserves), water quality changes, and environmental problems, combined with rapidly increasing populations, have heightened awareness of the pressing need to find sustainable , long-term water management solutions,” according to a report issued by the National Academies.

The book was compiled over two years by a broad-based panel of experts and was released after undergoing peer review. Its intended audience includes water policy makers and managers, and the goal of the book is to help address concerns about the technology of recapturing water and proper handling of water resources by various jurisdictions.

Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu