New Mexico Governor Proposes Spending Big On Water Projects

By Mónica Ortiz Uribe
November 20, 2013
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Mónica Ortiz Uribe
A farm laborer in Hatch, N.M., scoops out dirt from an irrigation ditch. A low water supply is hurting farmers across the Southwest.

New Mexico, like much of the Southwest, is looking for new and cost-effective ways to quench its thirst amid a years-long drought that has depleted its reservoirs to historic lows.

On Tuesday, Gov. Susana Martinez proposed spending $112 million toward projects that improve water infrastructure and quality across the state. That amount represents 60 percent of the capital outlay fund, money that's budgeted for building roads, schools and suppling police and fire departments.

This year the New Mexico Environment Department determined there are more than 250 small and rural towns without a backup water supply. Should their main water source fail, these communities run the risk of running out of water.  

That happened in the town of Magdalena this summer. Residents had only a 24 hour notice before the taps went dry. Their water supply came from a single underground well that unexpectedly dropped 15 feet below the pump level.

States across the arid Southwest are locked in a never-ending search for better ways to conserve a steadily dwindling water supply.

In Arizona, soccer fields and city parks are irrigated with recycled waste water. Residents are rewarded for using desert landscaping in their homes and installing low-flow toilets.

Efforts like these have yielded regional success. In Las Vegas and Tijuana, where populations have doubled in the last two decades, water use per capita is down.

The Albuquerque Journal reported this week, water use among New Mexicans is down 14 percent since 1995.

The water shortage has devastated the agriculture industry in South Texas and northern Mexico resulting in a high-level feud between international neighbors.

The fate of the governor's proposal in New Mexico will all depend on the actions of the state legislature when they meet in January. Among the projects Martinez is proposing are building water treatment plants that clean up contaminants like uranium and arsenic. Other projects include reducing algae growth and restoring fish habitats in rivers as well as repairing rural water wells and building more storage tanks.