Download Glossary of Terms - New Mexico

Glossary of Terms
Acre-foot. The quantity of water required to cover 1 acre (43,560 square feet) of land with
1 foot of water. An acre-foot of water is equivalent to 325,851 gallons; 43,560 cubic feet; or
1,233 cubic meters.
Acre-inches. The quantity of water required to cover one acre (43,560 square feet) of land
with 1 inch of water.
Aquifer. The water-bearing portion of subsurface earth material that yields or is capable of
yielding useful quantities of water to wells.
Average daily traffic (ADT). The typical 24-hour volume of traffic passing a given point or
segment of a roadway in both directions.
Colonias. A rural substandard subdivision where low-income families live. Many colonias
lack a clean water supply and a sewer system, which has caused health problems in certain
areas.
Consumptive use of water. The unit amount of water consumed on a given area from
transpiration, building of plant tissue, and evaporated from adjacent soil, water surface,
snow, or intercepted precipitation in a specific period of time. It does not include water
requirements for leaching, frost protection, wind erosion protection, plant cooling, or
incidental depletions.
Demand multiplier for earnings. A coefficient measuring the total dollar change in
household earnings that results from a $1 change in expenditures.
Demand multiplier for employment. A coefficient measuring the change in the number of
total jobs that results from a $1 change in expenditures.
Direct effects. Effects that are caused by an action and occur at the same time and same
place.
Enhancements. Features of the project that are voluntary actions that would replace,
improve, or enhance fish and wildlife habitat affected by the project.
Farm structure. Selected characteristics of farms in a region, including the number of
farms, total farm acres, average farm size, and type of ownership.
Final Demand. Amount of expenditures for categories of output produced by the economy.
Forbearance Agreement. An agreement between a water right holder and a purchaser in
which a portion of a given water allotment would be purchased (partial forbearance) or an
entire allotment would be purchased (complete forbearance).
Fully-owned farms. Farms fully owned by an individual or a family.
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Habitat. Place where an animal or plant normally lives, often characterized by a dominant
plant form or physical characteristic.
Indirect Effects. Effects that are caused by an action and are later in time or farther
removed in distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable. May include growth inducing
effects and other effects related to induced changes in the pattern of land use, population
density or growth rate, and related effects on air, water and other natural systems, including
ecosystems.
Inflation. Upward movement in the general level of prices.
Input-output analysis. A method of economic analysis that focuses upon identifying the
linkages (inputs purchased and outputs sold) among industries within an economy, and
utilizes these linkages to trace the impacts of specific changes on detailed sectors of the
economy.
Input-output model. An economic modeling system that takes a set of inter-industry
relationships within an economy, identifies the linkages (inputs purchased and outputs sold)
among industries, and traces the impacts of specific changes on detailed sectors of the
economy.
Level of Service. In transportation analysis, a qualitative measure describing operational
conditions within a traffic stream and how they are perceived by motorists and/or passengers.
Maquiladora. A foreign-owned plant in Mexico that largely exports its finished product and
hires Mexican workers because of the lower labor cost than in the U.S.
Mitigation. A required method or action to reduce or eliminate project impacts.
Multiplier. A coefficient that measures the impact of specific changes in one industry, such
as increases in construction spending or jobs, to economic variables in other industries, such
as output, earnings, or employment.
Native Americans. Used in a collective sense to refer to individuals, bands, or tribes who
trace their ancestry to indigenous populations of North America prior to Euro-American
contact.
Net cash return for farms. Estimation of farm earnings derived by subtracting total farm
production expenses from total farm income from sales.
Output. Market value of goods and services produced by a certain industry.
Partial Forbearance. A water right holder sells a portion of a given water allotment to a
purchaser.
Project area or region of impact. For economics, the area that represents the local
economic trading area and is used for the estimation of changes in population, employment,
earnings, income, and number of households. For all other resource discussions, this is the
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area where potential impacts, if any, would most likely occur. In this technical report, for
economics, the region of impact is defined as Dona Ana and Sierra counties in New Mexico
and El Paso and Hudspeth counties in Texas. For all other resource discussions, the region of
impact is defined as Dona Ana County, New Mexico and El Paso County, Texas.
Region of impact. The area that represents the local economic trading area and is used for
the estimation of changes in population, employment, earnings, income, and number of
households.
RIMS II. An economic modeling system developed by the Regional Economic Analysis
Division of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The
RIMS II model estimates multipliers for output, earnings, and employment for any region in
the United States composed of one or more counties.
RIMS II Direct-effect multiplier for employment. The RIMS II coefficient that measures
the changes in regional employment that result from changes in the number of jobs in a
particular industry.
RIMS II Final-demand multiplier for earnings. The RIMS II coefficient that measures the
changes in regional earnings that result from changes in expenditures in a particular industry.
RIMS II Final-demand multiplier for employment. The RIMS II coefficient that
measures the changes in regional employment that result from changes in expenditures in a
particular industry.
Surface water depletion. That part of a withdrawal of surface water that has been
evaporated, transpired, incorporated into crops or products, consumed by man or livestock, or
otherwise removed from the water environment. It includes that portion of ground water
recharge resulting from seepage or deep percolation (in connection with a water use) that
may not be economically recoverable in a reasonable number of years, or may not be usable.
Water bank. A legal mechanism in which an entity (farmer, company, or individual) who
controls rights to water that will not be used can “deposit” those rights and receive
compensation from the water bank. Another entity that needs water can purchase water rights
that have been “deposited” in the water bank.
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List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
ADT
Average daily traffic
ASR
Aquifer storage and recovery
BBER
University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research
BEA
Bureau of Economic Analysis
BLM
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
BMP
Best management practices
Cd.
Ciudad
CERM
Center of Environmental Resource Management
EBID
Elephant Butte Irrigation District
EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPWU/PSB
El Paso Water Utilities/Public Service Board
FHWA
Federal Highway Administration
IMIP
Instituto Municipal de Investigación y Planeación
INEGI
Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
LOS
Level of service
mgd
Million gallons per day
MVEDA
Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance
NMDOT
New Mexico Department of Transportation
REIS
Regional Economic Information System
RIMS II
Regional Input-Output Modeling System II
USBR
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
USIBWC
United States Section, International Boundary Water Commission
UTEP
University of Texas at El Paso
WPG
Watershed Planning Group
WTP
Water treatment plant
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