Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan

demand in this sector. The amount of decline projected is based on interviews with individuals
knowledgeable about the agricultural economy in each county (Section 6.2). Even in areas
where the data indicate a decline in the agricultural economy, the high projection assumes that
overall water demand will remain at the 2010 administrative water supply levels since water
rights have economic value and will continue to be used.
The livestock category includes water used to raise livestock, maintain self-supplied livestock
facilities, and support on-farm processing of poultry and dairy products (Longworth et al., 2013).
High and low projections for percentage growth or declines in the livestock sector were
developed based on interviews with ranchers, farm agency employees, and others with extensive
knowledge of livestock trends in each county (Section 6.2). The growth or decline rates were
then multiplied by the 2010 water use to calculate future water demand.
The commercial (self-supplied) category includes self-supplied businesses (e.g., motels,
restaurants, recreational resorts, and campgrounds) and public and private institutions (e.g.,
public and private schools and hospitals) involved in the trade of goods or provision of services
(Longworth et al., 2013). This category pertains only to commercial enterprises that supply their
own water; commercial businesses that receive water through a public water system are not
included. To develop the commercial self-supplied projections, it was assumed that commercial
development is proportional to other growth, and the high and low projections were calculated as
the 2010 commercial water use multiplied by the projected high and low population growth
rates. In regions where the growth rate is negative, both the high and low projections were
assumed to stay at the 2010 administrative supply water level, based on water rights having
economic value. In regions where the population growth is initially positive but later shows a
decline, the water demand projection will remain at the higher level for the remainder of the
planning period, again based on the administrative water supply and the value of water rights.
This method may be modified in some regions to consider specific information regarding plans
for large commercial development or increased use by existing commercial water users.
The industrial (self-supplied) category includes self-supplied water used by enterprises that
process raw materials or manufacture durable or nondurable goods and water used for the
construction of highways, subdivisions, and other construction projects (Longworth et al., 2013).
To collect information on factors affecting potential future water demand, economists conducted
interviews with industrial users and used information from the New Mexico Department of
Workforce Solutions (2014) to determine if growth is expected in this sector. Based on these
interviews and information, high and low scenarios were developed to reflect ranges of possible
growth. If water use in this category is low and limited additional use is expected, both the high
and low projections are the same.
The mining category includes self-supplied enterprises that extract minerals occurring naturally
in the earth’s crust, including solids (e.g., potash, coal, and smelting ores), liquids (e.g., crude
Middle Rio Grande Regional Water Plan 2017 175