Editor in Chief
Business Facilities
By Jack Rogers
From the May/June 2015 issue
With a biblical-scale drought afflicting a third of the U.S., the management of water resources is becoming a critical priority in every location. Even the most innovative growth strategies may wither away without a reliable supply of agua.
In this issue, Business Facilities visits two places that are ahead of the curve when it comes to making sure the spigots remain open. One is maximizing the advantages bestowed by a blessing of geological luck; the other is well prepared to deal with Mother Nature’s increasingly hot temper.
Our Water Resources Industry Focus serves up a subterranean tour of the bounty that flows beneath the ground in Greater Memphis, home to the Memphis Sands Aquifer—a natural 3000-foot-deep formation holding about 100 trillion gallons of the purest, sweetest water you’ll find anywhere in North America. That’s trillion with a T, enough water to match the volume that flows every four years over Niagara Falls. We’ll tell you how the region’s network of carefully calibrated pumping stations is sending out the water to an incoming tide of new businesses.
In our exclusive interview with Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico, we were pleased to hear that mandatory conservation is off the table in NM, even during this year’s epic drought. While its neighbors to the West are busy applying green paint to their parched lawns, New Mexico is reaping the benefits of wise investments in innovative irrigation systems, drought-resistant crops and similar water-saving measures.
You’ll be tempted to gulp down this refreshing news, but we recommend you sip and savor it.
