by Felicia Fonseca
Daily Lobo
Three UNM professors are collaborating with institutions across the nation to develop a virtual world that may help address water management issues.
The idea behind the Center for the Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas, designed in 2000, is to understand and focus on practical problems of water resources policy, management and decision-making, UNM Associate Professor Kate Krause said.
"There was a realization that we're all working on the same thing and that maybe we should collaborate," Krause said.
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The original $16 million, five-year grant was awarded to the University of Arizona from the National Science Foundation.
Thirteen academic institutions and dozens of organizations nationwide work on the SAHRA research team that includes physical scientists, economists, educators, practicing engineers and legal experts.
Krause, along with fellow UNM economic professors David Brookshire and Janie Chermak, is particularly interested in human behavior regarding water use.
She said she looks for people who have a lot of water available to them and sees if they are willing to sacrifice some of their resources to places where water is scarce. She also examines what people are willing to give up to have more water. The readiness of those in residential areas to lessen their use of water with methods like Xeriscaping and installing low-flow toilets is another trait she looks for in her research.
She said Albuquerque is already pushing the limits on its water usage, having already tapped into the city's aquifer excessively.
UNM students have also been heavily involved in the center's research by collecting data.
Mary Ewer, a UNM graduate student, said she can't say enough good things about the center. She said the research helps in understanding where water originates and how it is consumed in the Rio Grande basin.
Students then take the data and put it into water models where urban and agricultural demands can be seen. They can then put other variables into the models like the removal of water-guzzling salt cedars along the Rio Grande to see if water can become more available.
"There is a varied group of researchers involved who are thinking outside the box, which is good for students," Brookshire said in a news release. "Eventually, the students who are involved will go on to become integrated scientists, making them more marketable."
