The Utton Transboundary Resources Center at the University of New Mexico School of Law and the UNM Water Resources Program are sponsoring a public screening of the documentary film, “The American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?” in the auditorium of the Centennial Engineering Building on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
This movie, hosted and narrated by Jane Seymour, documents the limited supply of water in the Southwest and the ever-growing demand for that water. Filmed in New Mexico, Arizona and California, the film portrays the rapid population growth in Albuquerque and other Southwestern cities, the effects of recent droughts and climate change on the supply in the Rio Grande and Colorado basins, and the difficulties faced by the Navajo and Hopi, among others, in obtaining reliable supplies of water for domestic use.
The film includes interview segments with outgoing New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici and current New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman and other national and regional experts and civic leaders.
“The issues the film presents are of vital and continuing interest to all New Mexicans,” says Sanford Gaines, director of the Utton Transboundary Resources Center at the UNM School of Law. “The Utton Center serves the community with independent analysis of water issues and by bringing diverse interested parties together in the search for improved management of our water resources. We hope that this film screening and panel discussion will put the water challenges of the Southwest into the local context and promote community discussion of ways to secure our water supply for all users of water in the future.”
There will be a reception for the producer of the film, James Thebaut of the Chronicles Group in Los Angeles, at 5:30 p.m. The screening will begin at 6:15 p.m., followed by a panel discussion on the local significance of the issues raised in the film.
The panelists will include Prof. Paul Matthews, UNM Geography Department, Vince Tidwell, Principal Member of the Technical Staff, Sandia National Labs, and Tanya Trujillo, General Counsel, Interstate Stream Commission. More information on the film is available at: Running Dry.
Note: limited free parking available at the “B” lot on the northwest corner of University and Central, behind the UNM parking and transportation office. For more information about the event, please contact Sanford Gaines, Utton Center director, at 277-3253.