Albuquerque Bernalillo County
Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA)

ABCWUA is a joint agency of the City of Albuquerque and the County of Bernalillo that administers the water and wastewater utility for all of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. The Authority was created on June 21, 2003 by New Mexico Senate Bill 887 (Laws 2003, Chapter 437, codified as NMSA 1978, Section 72-1-10).

Experiential EE has been under contract to ABCWUA since 2006. We implement the following major components of their youth water resources outreach program. The classroom presentations and children’s water festival together reach about 15,000 students each year.

• approximately 600 classroom presentations to students in grades 1-12
• puppet shows to students in grades K-3
• booth events to the general public
• production of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Children’s Water Festival for approximately 1,000 area fourth grade students
• production of puppet show songs
• assistance with Project WET teacher professional development workshops
  

Southern Sandoval County Arroyo and Flood Control Authority (SSCAFCA)

SSCAFCA was established by New Mexico Statute Section 72-19-1 through 72-19-103 in 1990 as an independent corporate political body with an elected board entrusted with flood and stormwater control. The organization acquires, improves, maintains and operates flood and stormwater control facilities on streams and watersheds that enter, originate in or cross their area of authority. The SSCAFCA boundary comprises the City of Rio Rancho, the Town of Corrales, and the Town of Bernalillo west of the Rio Grande.

Experiential EE has been under contract to SSCAFCA since 2010 to carry out RiverXchange within their jurisdiction, and to provide consultation on the development of other outreach projects that support the agency’s Quality of Life plan.

Middle Rio Grande Stormwater Quality Team (MRGSQT)

MRGSQT was formed in 2004 to educate individuals and businesses located in the Middle Rio Grande-Albuquerque Reach Watershed about how to reduce stormwater pollution by keeping trash and other pollution out of our stormwater system. Their campaign is called Keep the Rio Grand. The region extends from the southern border of Santa Ana Pueblo to the northern border of Isleta Pueblo. This mostly urbanized watershed is home to approximately 50% of the population of New Mexico and is subject to a mixture of point source and nonpoint source pollution from municipal, industrial, commercial and agriculture. Their The Stormwater Team members include:

• Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo and Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA)
• Bernalillo County
• City of Albuquerque
• Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District
• Southern Sandoval County Arroyo and Flood Control Authority (SSCAFCA)
• University of New Mexico
• New Mexico Department of Transportation

Experiential EE has been under contract to MRGSQT since 2010 to carry out RiverXchange within their jurisdiction, and to provide consultation on the development of other projects that support the Team’s outreach goals.

Santa Fe County

Santa Fe County’s Water Conservation Program is dedicated to the conservation, preservation and sustainability of water resources for the benefit of its residents. Program objectives are to use water conservation practices to sustain a quality water supply for the future; provide comprehensive education and outreach program for the communities within Santa Fe County; and act as stewards of aquifer preservation by oversight of domestic wells.

Experiential EE has been under contract to Santa Fe County since 2010 to carry out RiverXchange within Santa Fe County.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is best known for the dams, power plants and canals it constructed in the 17 western states. These water projects led to homesteading and promoted the economic development of the West. Reclamation has constructed more than 600 dams and reservoirs including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and Grand Coulee on the Columbia River. Today it is the largest wholesaler of water in the country, bringing water to more than 31 million people, and provide one out of five Western farmers (140,000) with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts. Reclamation is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the western United States.

Experiential EE (through NMWCA) has received funding every year since 2006 from Reclamation through its Water Conservation Field Services Program in the Upper Colorado Region. Reclamation took the lead in promoting the development of water conservation outreach projects in New Mexico by funding children’s water festivals in many communities including Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Rio Rancho. They have also funded RiverXchange since 2007.

New Mexico Water Conservation Alliance (NMWCA)

NMWCA is a non-profit 501(c)(3)organization of people dedicated to water conservation issues. Individuals from municipal, industrial, institutional, and commercial sectors have joined together in an effort to exchange information, provide education, and work collaboratively to help ensure a positive water future for the state. This organization serves as Experiential EE’s fiscal partner when applying for federal and state funding. NMWCA has played an important and ongoing role since 1999 to support the development of quality outreach projects in New Mexico including children’s water festivals in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Rio Rancho, and RiverXchange.

Experiential EE has had a Letter of Understanding with NMWCA since 2007 to produce children’s water festivals and RiverXchange. NMWCA is the fiscal partner for RiverXchange.

Major In-Kind Sponsor Organizations

Experiential EE uses creative strategies to develop, manage and assess high impact outreach projects. Our forte is developing partnerships with local organizations to help us carry out selected components of projects. Examples include classroom guest speakers, field trip docents and event volunteers. This strategy enables our funding to reach more students. It also provides water-related organizations with the opportunity to gain entrance into area schools to meet their own outreach goals, and work with highly motivated teachers. The following organizations have played a significant, ongoing role to help us carry out multiple projects:

• Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
• Albuquerque Open Space
• Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension, 4-H
• Bernalillo County Environmental Health Department
• Bernalillo County Open Space
• Bernalillo County Public Works
• City of Rio Rancho
• New Mexico Environment Department
• New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
• New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
• PNM
• Sandia National Laboratories/Lockheed Martin
• Sandoval County Cooperative Extension, 4-H
• Santa Fe County
• Santa Fe County Cooperative Extension, 4-H
• SSCAFCA
• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation/Upper Colorado Region
• Water for People