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Perspectives on Innovative Approaches in Agriculture to Managing Water Scarcity in the Middle Rio Grande Basin

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  • Eleanor C. Hasenbeck

    (Water Resources Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA)

  • Caroline E. Scruggs

    (Water Resources Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
    Community and Regional Planning Department, School of Architecture and Planning, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA)

  • Melinda Morgan

    (Water Resources Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
    Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA)

  • Jingjing Wang

    (Water Resources Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
    Department of Economics, College of Arts and Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA)

  • Alex J. Webster

    (Water Resources Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
    Biology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA)

  • Corina M. Gomez

    (Water Resources Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA)

Abstract

Water planning and governance strategies must adapt to challenges associated with population growth, climate change, and projected water shortages. In the Western United States, agriculture is the dominant water use, and agricultural water users are being asked to conserve or share their water with other uses. Managing scarce water supplies at the local level often involves creative solutions, many of which are not well documented, especially in the agricultural sector. It is therefore critical to understand ideas to manage scarce water resources from the perspective of agricultural water users and those who work with them. In our research, we used interviews to explore how agricultural water users are managing increasing water scarcity in the Middle Rio Grande basin of central New Mexico and what enables or prevents them from taking innovative action to manage water scarcity. We hypothesized that we would find undocumented water use innovations born out of water users’ responses to lower and more variable water availability in recent years. We primarily recruited interviewees through snowball sampling, with a total of 42 (47%) agricultural water users, decision makers, and non-profit leaders influencing agricultural water governance in the basin accepting our invitation to participate. Our approximately one-hour, semi-structured and open-ended interviews explored agricultural water users’ lived experiences with water governance and opportunities to manage water scarcity. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed using HyperRESEARCH software (version 4.5.4). Our results did not support our hypothesis. Instead, we found that agricultural water users struggled to implement well-known innovations amid the pressures of water scarcity, supply uncertainty, administrative complexity, and constraints on their time, labor, and money. Water users and decision makers were mutually interested in implementing innovations in crop choice, flexibility in water storage, use, and management, stricter enforcement of water use efficiency, and access to more efficient irrigation equipment. However, high costs, a lack of knowledge, education, and training, and challenges related to water distribution and scheduling prevented agricultural water users from accessing these and other innovations. Recommendations include incentive-based policies to promote agricultural water use innovations that require high initial costs, improved water accounting at the basin and regional levels to promote flexible and reliable access to agricultural water, targeted education and outreach programming on alternative irrigation methods and cropping patterns, and improved access to irrigation scheduling information to support agricultural water users in planning for water scarcity.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleanor C. Hasenbeck & Caroline E. Scruggs & Melinda Morgan & Jingjing Wang & Alex J. Webster & Corina M. Gomez, 2025. "Perspectives on Innovative Approaches in Agriculture to Managing Water Scarcity in the Middle Rio Grande Basin," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-32, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:7:p:793-:d:1629626
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steven Greenland & Elizabeth Levin & John F. Dalrymple & Barry O’Mahony, 2018. "Sustainable innovation adoption barriers: water sustainability, food production and drip irrigation in Australia," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(6), pages 727-741, November.
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    4. Dylan R. Hedden-Nicely, 2022. "Climate change and the future of western US water governance," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(2), pages 108-110, February.
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