ANYONE KNOW WHERE THE HEADWATERS ARE FOR THE RIO-GRANDE?? WE GOT A HUGE LAKE HERE IN T-0r-C>N.M. I,M WONDERING HOW POLLUTED IT MIGHT BE? THANK-GOD WE HAVE NATURAL LOCAL SPRINGS.

-- AL DRISCOL (CATT@ZIANET.COM), June 08, 1999

Answers

Polluted rivers and lakes are going to be a huge problem if TSHTF next year. You should secure a good well source and learn as much as you can about purifying. Remember we may be facing a problem with nuclear, biological,chemical and who knows what else with our water and air anytime in the future.

-- BiGG (supersite@acronet.net), June 08, 1999.

It rises in the southern Rockies near Creede Colorado, flows through the commercial potato growing San Luis Valley, down into NM and through the Rio Grande gorge past Ed Yourdon's home, through the old Spanish ditch irrigated Espanola Valley where I wish I still lived, through the heart of Albuquerque...the Duke City and on down to your reservoir. I remeber rafting and swimming in the Rio Bravo and seeing lots of stuff that looked like feces. Most of the bad stuff though would be from the San Luis Valley and Albuturkey. I'm sure its no worse than the Canadian River that also forms in the So. Rockies and passes by my "y2k fortress" haha in Canadian, Oklahoma.

-- Sand Mueller (smueller@azalea.net), June 08, 1999.

The Rio Grande rises in the San Juan Mts. of Colorado., about 40 miles west of Creede and 10 miles east of Silvertop (which is on the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray and Durango). The Rio Grande Reservoir is not far from the headwaters.

Interestingly, hydrologists say that the Rio Grande is probably "cleanest" in NM between Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs; E.B. Reservoir acts as a trap and filter for the river. These are relative terms, of course: the river is still polluted even below E.B. Dam.

Yep, lots of hot springs in T or C--two million gallons a day worth of very hot water (98-115 degrees). Also lots of minerals in that water. You might not want to drink it but you can probably mine it.

By the way, check this week's T or C "Herald": note that by Sept. 30th E.B. Reservoir is projected to be 15 feet lower than its lowest level last year. The drought in New Mexico certainly isn't as bad as in Old Mexico, but it's bad enough.

-- Don Florence (dflorence@zianet.com), June 09, 1999.