I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Albuquerque’s river levees are so old that they’re faced with being decertified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If that happens, they’re essentially considered to be nonexistent, which could lead to flood insurance premiums rising by $500 to $2000 for property owners in the Rio Grande flood plain.
Contributing factors include the levees’ age, trees growing on the levees, weakening them; and drainage pipes that no longer work, according to the Albuquerque Journal today. New standards for levees were developed after Hurricane Katrina, and Albuquerque’s 1950’s era levees are rated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as “poor.”
Small portions of the levees have already been decertified—in Corrales, Bernalillo, and part of Albuquerque’s South Valley. Now, 27 miles of levees through the heart of Albuquerque are being reviewed. Nearly 13,000 buildings and property worth $1.4 billion are located in the boundaries of the flood plain that would be created if the levees are decertified. Bringing the levees into compliance would require complete reconstruction.
The Journal has an interesting synopsis of the history of the levees, and the ramifications for specific areas of the city. Interestingly, certain parts of Albuquerque metro area–Mountainview, Isleta and Belen–never had levee protection in the first place, and those property owners have always paid extra for flood insurance.
