Water is Life: Stressed Water Supplies in the Southwest

Exhibition Open: September—November, 2025
President's Gallery at Doña Ana Community College
Mezzanine Level of Building DAEM, 2800 N. Sonoma Ranch Blvd. Las Cruces, NM 88011

The dry Rio Grande, main water source for Las Cruces, farmlands, and communities south to Mexico.

Courtesy of Kellin Acree

 
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The dry Rio Grande, main water source for Las Cruces, farmlands, and communities south to Mexico.

Courtesy of Kellin Acree

 
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The construction of Elephant Butte Dam in 1916 further politicized access to the Rio Grande’s water.  

Courtesy of Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008676678/  

 
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Pecans, a leading crop in New Mexico, require a lot of water. 

Courtesy of Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/item/2016824889/  

 
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Elephant Butte Lake, main reservoir of Rio Grande water, had record low water levels in 2022. 

Courtesy of DACC Student 

The Problem
The Roots
The Solutions

The Rio Grande flows about 1900 miles from its headwaters in Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. In our community in southern New Mexico, it runs dry most of the year due to diversions and dams. Additionally,  an ongoing mega-drought and climate change have resulted in a stressed water supply in the desert. Uncontrolled population growth, land development, and poor leadership have resulted in a lack of equity in access to clean water.

Euro-American colonization instituted inequitable access to water. The illegal appropriation of water rights by corporate agriculture, oil/natural gas industries, combined with the rerouting of natural waterways has encouraged the capitalization of the scarcity of water. Water is now a commodity sold to the highest bidder. 

An informed public can unite through dialogue to realize their power, take action and pressure public officials to enact policy changes and regulation. We can inform the public by creating, disseminating, and discerning media. Stakeholders are empowered through dialogue and action to demand equitable access to clean water.  

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If ranchers cannot rely on the Rio Grande to provide water for their herds, they pump it from diminishing aquifers. The water shortage has harmed Emilee’s family ranch.

Video edited by Tony Cruz, phot courtesy of DACC Student, Noe L.

Our Point of View

University Partners
Community Partners

When exploring environmental justice, courses at Doña Ana Community College can inspire and support students to take agency by questioning the status quo and realizing that they can take action to transform their world. For English students, this can entail researching and examining a variety of texts, reflecting on the texts in their writing, and drawing from personal experiences. For film students, this can involve script writing, storyboarding, and capturing images to convey their intended messages. For all of the students, the primary goal is to convey emotions to connect with their community and ultimately impact public policy. 

—Doña Ana Community College (DACC)

The voices of community youth and the original Indigenous population most impacted by environmental justice issues are largely absent in local, regional, and national narratives. The Learning Action Buffet believes it is essential to include these voices in defining not only the problem, but also the solutions. Community driven solutions are informed by and implemented through traditions and expressions usually given little value in our capitalist system. These solutions include art, ceremony, music, and sustainable farming. 

—Learning Action Buffet (LAB)

Contributors

University Partners

Doña Ana Community College (DACC)

Faculty Project Directors Lamaia Vaughn Professor Emeritus Film and Digital Media Arts Federico Almarez Assistant Professor of English
Research and Content Development Students of DACC English Course "Rhetoric of Resistance" Academic Year 2022-23