New Mexico Water Dialogue 27th Annual Meeting

Wed, Jan 13, 2021, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM, Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 9:00AM – 3:45 PM MST

New Mexico’s climate is increasingly variable, hotter and drier. How do we respond? What steps can we take to improve our resiliency? Many changes will be expensive, and some may increase competition between users and communities. And some problems may remain unsolvable. 

New Mexico has successfully completed a number of local, regional, and statewide water planning efforts. To ensure that decisions about policies and projects are effective, the first step is to complete in-depth analyses of supply and demand. The second step is to develop economic and policy decisions that will improve our water future by relying on the best available scientific data.

The framework for making these decisions is the 50-year water plan currently being developed under the leadership of Governor Lujan Grisham and the State Engineer and Interstate Stream Commission. 

Register here

Due to public health restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event will be hosted online. The Dialogue hopes the online format makes it easier for more people to join with them! To make the online format more enjoyable and easier to fit into your schedule, they have split the conference into 2 consecutive days, with a short, 3-hour session on January 13th (9:00-12:00) followed by two, 3-hour sessions on January 14th (morning and afternoon sessions, with a long break in the middle).

The Dialogue will kick off the conference on Day 1 with welcomes from New Mexico Water Dialogue president Jason John as well as Governor Lujan Grisham (not yet confirmed) followed by a keynote by Eric Perramond, Professor of Environmental Sciences and Southwest Studies at Colorado College. They’ll end Day 1 with a panel discussion.

On Day 2, the morning session will include a keynote by Rolf Schmidt-Petersen, Interstate Stream Commission Director, followed by a panel discussion. The afternoon session will include a selection of “Table Talks,” during which you will have the opportunity to participate in small group discussions.

For full conference details, you can review and download the agenda here.