MinerAlert
MinerAlert
March 5, 2022 - June 28, 2022
The bubbling of a fountain, a rushing river, and the monsoon rains. Water is all around us in so many different forms. It is our most precious resource, and in the desert, it is both sacred and scarce.
Over the centuries, the Rio Grande created a verdant valley with wetlands and bosques, where annual floods provided both life and destruction. For most of our histories, the people of the borderlands adjusted their lives to the patterns of floods and monsoons. It has only been within the past century, due to rapid population growth, that water has become limited.
Water is a shared and valuable resource. Sustainably managing the limited supply has been and continues to be a challenge for water utilities, irrigation districts, and international entities, shackled by complex legal structures and policies.
We have managed the scarcity thus far, yet everything hangs in a precarious balance. Droughts, urbanization, salinity, conflict, and overuse all threaten this balance. Yet, working together as a united front we can ensure a more sustainable future.
We invite you to be a part of this experience.
Click here to visit the Smithsonian's Water Ways website!
El burbujeo de una fuente, un río caudaloso, y las lluvias monzónicas. El agua está a nuestro alrededor de muchas formas diferentes. Es nuestro recurso más preciado, y en el desierto, es a la vez sagrada y escasa.
A lo largo de los siglos, el Río Bravo creo un valle verde con humedales y bosques, donde las inundaciones anuales proporcionaban vida y destrucción. Durante la mayor parte de nuestras historias, los habitantes de las tierras fronterizas han ajustado sus vidas a los patrones de las inundaciones y los monzones. Solo en el último siglo, debido al rápido crecimiento de la población, el agua se ha vuelto limitada.
El agua es un recurso compartido y valioso. La gestión sostenible del suministro limitado ha sido y sigue siendo un reto para los servicios de agua, los distritos de riego, y las entidades internacionales, encadenadas por complejas estructuras legales y políticas.
Hasta ahora hemos gestionado la escasez del agua, aun así, todo pende de un precario equilibrio. Las sequías, la urbanización, la salinidad, los conflictos y la sobreexplotación amenazan este equilibrio. Sin embargo, trabajando juntos como un frente unido podemos garantizar un futuro más sostenible.
Te invitamos a ser parte de esta experiencia.
¡Haga clic aqui para visitar el sitio web de Water Ways del Smithsonian!
As part of the Museum on Main Street program, the Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens has chaperoned the Smithsonian Institution's travel exhibit, Water/Ways around the state of Texas. Starting at the Brazos Valley African American Museum in Bryan, Texas in May of 2021, this exhibit has travelled to Cuero, Brownsville, and Odessa, Texas and will end its journey in El Paso on March 5th. Telling the story of water and its influence on American society, the Smithsonian exhibit tackles both the science of H2O and the role water plays in people's lives.
In conjunction with this traveling exhibit, the Centennial Museum has created a companion exhibit that tells the story of water in the Borderlands. Where does our water come from? What is the past, present, and future of water in our region? What are the ways that water has influenced your life?
When coordinating this exhibit, the Centennial Museum planned to have the exhibit at UTEP in time to celebrate World Water Week 2022. Luckily, this was possible!
