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<br />" <br /> <br />of more than 50 feet under whole counties (Cronin, 1959. p. 10,) yet <br />in areas of little or no pumping the water levels have not declined, <br />or bave declined onlT a few feet. <br /> <br />The general solution to the prob18ll\ of opt1mum development or <br />ground water in areas of mining is therefore twofold: conservative <br />pUlllping from adequateq spaced wells. The exact rate and spacing are <br />a matter of decillion which must take into account the aquifer cbaracter- <br />istics and which revolve essentialq around philosophical and long- <br />tsrm economic considerations. A long-term, stable development permits <br />amortization of capital expenditures for fann equipment, city and <br />highway development, SChOOls, etc. Also of importance, a long-tem, <br />stable developnent permits tbe economy of the region to evolve to a <br />level sucb that conservation aOO rectification measures can be under- <br />taken. In the final analysis, all conservation aOO rectification measures <br />are economic - a balancing of cost with benefits. sithsr localq. <br />regionalq, or nationalq. SOllIe conservation and rectification measures <br />require research, snd research takee time - time bought by managed <br />development to permit a stable, growing economy to pay for the research. <br /> <br />An eXlllllple of management that recogrdzes the two factors of time <br />and spaced deve10pnent in ground-water mining is afforded by regula- <br />tory measures set up by ths New Mexico state Engineer in the Lea County <br />portion of the High PIE.1,DB. Regulation in Lea County is based essan- <br />tial~ upon assuring a firm minimum 40-year life of extractable water <br />for agricultural purposes. It ie accomplished on a township basis by <br />taking into account the recoverable water under each township. <br /> <br />'. <br /> <br />Such farsighted regulated management of ground-water mining <br />assures a stable development and econ~ and also allows the time <br />needed to investigate and institute conservation and rectification <br />measures. Such measuree could include (a) increasing recharge, (b) <br />improving water-application practicee, (c) substituting crops of lower <br />water requirements, (d) changing from an agricultural to an industrial <br />economy, (e) utilizing (perhaps demineralizing) inferior waters for <br />certllin industriel processing, (f) importing surface water, and (g) <br />transporting ground water from undeveloped to developed areas. <br /> <br />Transporting ground water from undeveloped to developed areas to <br />alleviate local shortages is a distinct possibility in some areas of <br />the High Plains, espeCially for municipal and industrial supplies. <br />l.lllB.rillo and wbbock, Tex.. are doing so, end portales, ~I. Mex., is <br />favorably situated to transport water from the sand-dune area to the <br />north. A signliicant part of the High plains is underlain at less <br />than plow depth by cemented sediments called"caliche- which are not <br />suitable for agriculture. The formation of the caliche rocks in these <br />at-eas may be said to have effectively saved water for the future, and <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />'. <br />