A New Mexico utility plans to use some of the water it gets from Colorado to test the idea of pumping water underground for use later during times of drought or high demand.
Starting next week, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority for about a month will inject the water underground by using a currently idle well that has been used in the past to pump water from the ground.
According to the Albuquerque Journal (http://bit.ly/18xM6JF ), the water will come from the utility's allotment from the San Juan-Chama Project.
That project delivers Colorado River Basin water to New Mexico through tunnels, and the water goes into the Rio Chama for use in the Rio Grande Valley.
Albuquerque now uses a mix of San Juan-Chama water and groundwater.