While the state has taken important steps, they are too small to meet the moment we are in. That’s why New Mexicans are coming together to ask that our leaders take bigger, bolder, and more immediate actions to implement more serious long-term plans to secure our state’s water future. With record budget surpluses, there is no excuse no t to act now. Because the longer we wait, the more difficult and expensive solutions become.
Here are five key things that state leaders can do to secure our water future:
The Leap Ahead Report and the Water Task Force Recommendations offer policymakers a clear path to adopt comprehensive water reforms. The science is clear and the predications are frightening: New Mexico’s surface and groundwater supplies will be severely depleted if we don’t take action soon. Whether it is a set of individual bills, a larger legislative package, or proactive administrative regulations, we must prioritize water issues in the next several legislative sessions to modernize our water policies and make critical investments to secure our water future.
The incremental progress we’ve made in staffing and funding our water agencies is simply not enough to solve our water crisis. We must think bigger and act bolder with the state’s annual budgets for water agencies. In many cases, these agencies need double the staff they have now, and one, three, or five percent increases a year will not get the job done.
Our rural areas, tribes, pueblos and acequia communities are especially vulnerable to the water crisis right now. As we implement reforms, we must make sure we prioritize the unique needs of these communities and leave no one behind. The recent wildfires and floods show we must improve our watersheds, infrastructure and municipal water systems proactively, rather than operating in emergency-response mode. Rural areas, tribes, pueblos and acequia communities need capacity help from the state to plan and implements projects on the ground, and that requires more professional staff at every water agency.
There are many water-related programs that can help us solve the water crisis and support river health, but they have been historically underfunded. A million dollars here and there won’t work; these programs need significant money to help communities now, with dedicated, recurring funding in the long term. Nature-based solutions like green/natural infrastructure should also be considered to deal with water issues so communities can benefit from low impact development in ways that work best for them.
New Mexico’s scientific community can continue offeringelected officials the tools and resources they need to make smart decisions, but these tools need more sustainable, long-term funding. We must fully fund programs like the Water Data Act and bring our water agencies into the 21st century using more modern information technology (IT) to update important water data that still exists on shelves and in filing cabinets full of paper. We must also fund water quality sampling programs and aquifer mapping projects through our academic institutions, so we can give local water managers the scientific data they need to address the water crisis.
"Everything that we do - economically, culturally, spiritually - has a basis in our water resources. If we don't respect, appreciate, and prioritize the most fundamental element that sustains us all, nature will have the last word."
"Water issues should be more of a priority because we are the most downstream on the Rio Grande. All the decisions made up north impact us even though we don't see that water year round. Life really erupts in the desert when water comes around."