Albuquerque, NM

Like most places in the Southwest, Albuquerque has severe water issues that are exacerbated by a growing population that includes a large number of immigrants, legal and illegal, and refugees approved for resettlement here by the federal government. Local agencies, however, have no way to increase the supply of water nor can they prevent the continuing flow of immigrants into the area.

And so, the planning goes forward for adding another half-million people in the Albuquerque metropolitan area in the next few decades. New developments continue to appear to house the newcomers even–as in one prominent instance–if age-old sacred grounds of Native Americans are despoiled to build roads to connect developments to major existing roadways. During two visits to Albuquerque and surrounding communities, Producer George Colburn interviewed numerous officials and citizens about the likely fate of a city with too little water and too many people.