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Drought

The Clock Is Ticking for New Mexico to Cut Rio Grande Water Use

For now, the state is counting on voluntary cuts among vegetable and pecan farmers. But that might not be enough.

Story by Martha Pskowski, photos by Paul Ratje

The dry riverbed of the Rio Grande is seen next to pecan orchards in Radium Springs, N.M., before annual water releases began on May 30.
Steam billows from Valero’s West Refinery outside Corpus Christi on April 29. Cooling towers at industrial facilities can evaporate more than 1,000 gallons of water per minute. Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News

Corpus Christi Residents and Businesses Subsidized Industrial Water Bills for Years, Officials Say

By Neena Satija, Dylan Baddour

Last year, the town of Estancia, N.M., asked residents to conserve water because its wells were not producing adequately. Credit: Town of Estancia

A New Mexico Town Is Running Dry. An Immigration Detention Center Is Its Biggest Water Customer.

By Martha Pskowski

The sign with Smokey Bear says, "Fire danger very high today! Prevent wildfires"

Large Fires Scorch Drought-Stricken Western U.S. 

By Kiley Price

People paddle the Rio Grande with downtown Albuquerque in the background. Credit: City of Albuquerque

A New Book Tells the Story of Albuquerque Through the Rio Grande

By Martha Pskowski

“The water plan has to be realistic,” said Larry Soward, a former executive director of the Texas Water Commission. Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News

Texas’ Refusal to Plan for Climate Change Created a Crisis in Corpus Christi

By Dylan Baddour

Tanya Trujillo, then assistant secretary of the Interior for water and science, speaks during an event in California in 2023. Credit: Bureau of Reclamation

As Colorado River States Struggle to Reach Agreement, New Mexico Brings on a Fresh Voice

By Jake Bolster

John Byrum, executive director of the Nueces River Authority, at the Texas Water Association conference on June 18 in Horseshoe Bay. Credit: Jon Shapley/Inside Climate News

How a Tiny Texas River Agency Plans to Build the Largest Desalination Plant in the Country

By Arcelia Martin, Dylan Baddour

A person wears a hat for shade during a heat wave on March 20 in Redondo Beach, Calif. The March heat wave that blistered the Western U.S. foreshadows more extreme heat this summer, former NOAA climate scientists said in a briefing this week. Credit: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Scientists Warn of Summer Heat Spikes as Global Warming Edges Toward 2C

By Bob Berwyn

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir on the Colorado River, is plunging, causing hydropower generation at Hoover Dam to decline.

Hoover Dam Approaches a Hydropower Cliff

Brett Walton, Circle of Blue

Dead trees burned by a wildfire span across the Manti-La Sal National Forest near Moab, Utah, in 2022. Credit: Jon G. Fuller/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Across Ecosystems, Dead Organisms Help Shape the Living World

By Nicholas Kusnetz

A helicopter crew battles a wildfire near Kalispell, Mont., in August 2022. Credit: Don and Melinda Crawford/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Montana Officials Warn of Elevated Wildfire Risk From Increasing Drought, Heat and Wind

By Mosabber Hossain

Snowmelt feeds the Colorado River near its headwaters on April 6 in Rocky Mountain National Park. Credit: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Feds Will Soon Impose New Framework on Colorado River if States Can’t Agree How to Manage It

By Wyatt Myskow

A team with the New Mexico Reforestation Center monitors seedlings in Mora County. Credit: Courtesy of Pouli Sikelianos/NMHU

A ‘Reforestation Pipeline’ in New Mexico Trains Seedlings to Survive in Burn Scars

By Tina Deines

After record-low snowpack across the Colorado River Basin, water levels remain low at Lake Powell on April 30, near Page, Ariz. Credit: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Colorado River Faces ‘Devastating Consequences’ If Another Dry Winter Lands, Experts Warn

By Jake Bolster

Firefighters work to contain the Hughes Fire as it burns on Jan. 22, 2025, in Castaic, Calif. Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Why Wildfire Experts Are So Worried About This Year’s Fire Season

By Peter Aldhous

Water sits 30 or more feet below the base of a fishing pier at Lake Corpus Christi on April 28. Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News

Corpus Christi Postpones Water Emergency to December as ‘Super El Niño’ Offers an End to Drought

By Dylan Baddour, Emily Salazar

Hanson Professional Services vice president John Michael at his office in Corpus Christi on Monday. “Let’s hold all of our regional system hostage while they wait for their data center,” Michael said. Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News

Corpus Christi Leaders Believe Data Center Plans May Be Behind Delays to Emergency Water Supply

By Emily Salazar, Dylan Baddour

People carry their belongings as they evacuate due to flooding in Yaguachi, Ecuador, on Feb. 25, 2025. Credit: Marcos Pin/AFP via Getty Images

Latin America Faces ‘Hydrological Whiplash’ as Climate Risks Mount

By Bob Berwyn

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