Fund Water Future
The Water Data Act and the Water Security Planning Act
Editor’s note: Stacy Timmons prepared this paper for the January 2024 New Mexico Water Dialogue Annual Statewide Meeting information packet. Stacy is the New Mexico water scientist who oversees the hydrogeology programs as Associate Director of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. It’s republished here because funding is needed from the 2025…
Read MoreWater Advocates’ FY 26 Special Appropriations Recommendations
The Legislature must augment the funding the Governor has permitted the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) and Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) to request by authorizing funds from rich oil and gas revenues to accelerate work that only the State can do to secure New Mexico’s water future. Implementing three transformative 20th Century water laws and enabling agency programs, including State Engineer water rights enforcement and Bureau of Geology aquifer mapping, requires a large increase in one-time funding.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: Governor Lujan Grisham’s Bad Water Priorities for Next Fiscal Year
While many steps are being taken in the right direction, we are short on reliable facts, trusted data, and funding; and long on misinformation. The Governor’s water leadership focus is badwater treatment, justified by oil and gas industry disinformation. The opportunity costs of this focus are unacceptable. The State of New Mexico must instead focus on stewardship of the good water that we have.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: Water Resilience, Powerful Politicians, and 10-Year Outcomes
While many steps are being taken in the right direction, we are short on reliable facts, trusted data, and funding; and long on misinformation. The Governor’s water leadership focus is badwater treatment, justified by oil and gas industry disinformation. The opportunity costs of this focus are unacceptable. The State of New Mexico must instead focus on stewardship of the good water that we have.
Read MoreMillions of Dollars Available for New Mexico Water System Improvement Projects
Does your water system need improvement? Repairs, expansion, regionalization, storage, treatment to remove contaminants, new pipes, replacement of lead? Millions of dollars in loans, at low interest and the potential to have most or all of the principal forgiven. Read this guest post from the New Mexico Environment Department.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: Sweetwater
The sweet waters of New Mexico are necessary for all life in our beloved state, in all our home places, our querencias. An acerbic senior ISC water engineer told me 25 years ago that we know where New Mexico’s water is. It is where we live, irrigate, water livestock, hunt and fish, and enjoy our heritage. He didn’t need to say “sweetwater”.
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: State Government Neglect of Water Must Stop Now
To prevent population evaporation, it is vital that the state fund serious adaptation measures to cope with reduced water availability. This is not a temporary drought but a permanent increase in aridity. The State of New Mexico has the power and resources to initiate required strategic changes. We know the path forward. We urge you to communicate this to the Governor and the Legislature. Do what Water requires. Do it Now.
Read MoreWithout Water, There’s Nothing!
A stone discovered in ancient rock layers exposed by tectonic shifts delicately picked out of its strata and examined, was found to contain a bit of water billions of years old: young water of our home, planet Earth. Young water, which itself took eons to become a source of all life: around, within, below, above,…
Read MoreFrom the President’s Desk: “The Middle Rio Grande Water Governance Forecast is for Accelerating Progress in 2024!”
Part II – “Co-Creation of a Sustainable Water Future for the Middle Rio Grande.”
The past two years have set the stage for accelerated progress in managing New Mexico’s water resources for much greater resilience, as described in Part I, a 2023 summary report. Part II is about 2024.
Water Funding by the 2024 Legislature is Essential. Please tell your legislators.
Together, New Mexicans made significant strides in addressing the multifaceted challenges of water management and conservation in New Mexico in 2023.
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