While much of America’s southwest and inter-mountain west battles blazing forest fires, Magdalena, NM faces a less spectacular but equally fearsome crisis: a municipal system no longer capable of delivering water to the village's 938 residents.
"Since early June, Magdalena residents have been living on rationed bottled water and waiting on a daily parade of trucks to roll down the highway and deliver potable water thousands of gallons at time. The trucks deliver enough water to conservatively recharge the most basic daily needs of the village, but not enough to allow swamp coolers to run or baths to be drawn. It seems a combination of systemic mismanagement, historic drought, and infrastructure disrepair led to the collapse of Magdalena's municipal well," writes Lucas Lindsey.
"Magdalena is not an isolated story. After three years of extreme drought and the state’s driest decade in sixty years, water shortages are becoming a harsh reality for many communities across New Mexico."
FULL STORY: Water Crisis: Challenges Ahead in New Mexico
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions