50-Year Water Action Plan

Develop and implement New Mexico’s Water Education Template (“WET”), a statewide water education campaign, to inform all New Mexicans about the source of their water, what is at stake due to reduced supplies in future years, and how each individual can do their part to conserve.

In 2024 and 2025 develop the statewide water education campaign for the general public and public schools, in conjunction with a statewide survey to establish baseline data related to the public’s understanding of water issues and personal actions to conserve water. In addition, continue to implement the Water Security Planning Act of 2023 to support rural and municipal efforts to increase water education and conservation through expanded water recycling, limitations on outdoor water use, and greater adoption of water efficient fixtures.

Develop tools and policy incentives to expand water conservation and resilience in the agricultural sector through initiatives that increase producers’ voluntary adoption of high-efficiency irrigation technology (e.g., soil moisture sensors, remote controlled equipment, and application of satellite-based evapotranspiration data) and drought resilient, low water-demand crops.

In 2024, expand outreach to farmers, agricultural businesses, and irrigation districts on all available state and federal funding to support costs associated with water
conservation practices, including the State’s Healthy Soil Program and federal Farm Bill programs for efficient irrigation systems, voluntary crop conversion, and conservation practices. In 2025, continue to advocate for greater federal investments in water conservation research and development and establish State fiscal incentives, such as an economic development incentive program, and other programs developed in coordination  with agricultural producers, including acequias, to make adoption of water conservation practices more affordable for New Mexico farmers. Starting in 2025, use regional water planning to identify programs and projects for state funding that will increase agricultural resilience and preserve landscape health while decreasing depletions on a basin-wide scale.

Build and repair resilient public drinking water infrastructure to address water loss, thereby ensuring a greater volume of water is conserved and that safe and affordable drinking water is available in all communities. Today, some drinking water systems in New Mexico are losing 40-70% of all treated drinking water due to breaks and leaks throughout aging infrastructure, such as underground distribution pipes. Many of these problems stem from chronic underinvestment in the infrastructure and water workforce that communities rely upon for clean drinking water.

In 2024, deploy innovative technology and remote sensing techniques to complete a statewide inventory of water loss across 1,000+ public water systems in New Mexico, including analysis of planned and active infrastructure projects, in order to quantify the extent of water loss and inform further investments in water conservation through federal and state funding.

Prioritize water management infrastructure improvements (e.g., dams and reservoirs) and operational efficiencies to meet future demands by developing agreements for flexible management options, continuing progress on completion of Indian Water Rights Settlements, repairing aging infrastructure (e.g., in tribal and acequia communities) and addressing critically important dam safety improvements, while ensuring that environmental flows and compliance will be part of our solutions. Seek and apply federal resources and funding to assist in the completion of many urgent infrastructure projects.

Work with partners in 2024 and 2025 to repair and modernize existing infrastructure to improve water use efficiency savings, utilize naturally distributed storage where appropriate, and maximize operational flexibilities and surface water and groundwater storage opportunities to protect up to three-millionacre-feet of water per year for existing and future uses. In addition, establish tools and data to calculate a baseline for system-wide efficiency and to measure future change. In 2025, allocate dedicated state funding to accelerate projects that address infrastructure priorities, including over 70 deficient dams.

Establish the State Strategic Water Supply with $500 million reserved during 2024 and 2025 for New Mexico to apply toward purchases of water that can be used for everything from community water supply to building our clean energy economy. The State’s program for “advanced market commitments” will reduce risk for private companies looking to build desalination and produced water treatment facilities to convert brackish groundwater and oil and gas sector wastewater to valuable resources. These nonrenewable additional sources of water will greatly bolster water security by addressing near and long-term future water supply needs without increasing demand on the State’s diminishing freshwater resources.

In 2024, create the program framework and guidelines, and launch concept paper competition for advanced market commitments for desalination and wastewater treatment/reuse. In 2024 and 2025, secure $500 million in program funding through revenues from severance taxes collected on oil, gas, and other natural resource extraction.

Develop and implement comprehensive water reuse rules for potable and non-potable reuse of treated wastewater, including, but not limited to, continued implementation of the Produced Water Act, which was enacted in 2019 to spur greater reuse of produced water, by developing rigorous science-based standards and permitting requirements to protect the environment and public health.

By 2024 adopt preliminary water reuse rules to create a consistent and science-based regulatory program for treatment and reuse of produced water outside of the oil and gas sector. By 2026, adopt necessary revised and sector-specific water reuse rules pursuant to the Water Quality Act, the Produced Water Act and the Environmental Improvement Act to establish clear regulatory pathways for potable (direct and indirect) and fit-for-purpose non-potable reuse of all relevant sources of wastewater, including from domestic/municipal and industrial sectors.

Fully fund and implement the Aquifer Mapping and Monitoring Program at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources and establish an integrated statewide groundwater monitoring network to support ongoing water management decisions, including development of desalination treatment plants and aquifer recharge projects. This action also directly supports action B1 above by expanding opportunities for the proper siting of water treatment plants and characterization of brackish water aquifers. In order to better understand our complex aquifers and track changes in some regions, we will need to drill wells to explore and delineate the aquifers. These wells can then be used for dedicated, long-term monitoring to track the impacts of our water use and conservation efforts.

In 2024 and subsequent years, fully fund the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources’ request for recurring funding (i.e., an increase of $1.25 million) and any requested nonrecurring program funding. Utilize federal infrastructure funding to help cover costs to drill wells and build an improved groundwater monitoring network.

Cleanup contaminated groundwater across 15 Superfund sites, hundreds of legacy uranium mining and milling sites, federal facilities (such as Los Alamos National Lab and military institutions), hundreds of petroleum storage tank releases, and up to 200 other pollutant plumes scattered across rural and urban communities where groundwater fails to meet State water quality standards.

In 2024, in partnership with the New Mexico Water Data Initiative and the state uranium mining reclamation programs, develop a dashboard of all known contaminated  groundwater sites, including the status and estimated cost of cleanup for each site. In 2025, fund and launch a State program to pay for remediation of groundwater  contamination at over 100 neglected sites that have no responsible party and that do not rank for the federal Superfund program.

Develop and implement a State surface water discharge permitting program
to protect watersheds and reduce the amount of pollution entering New Mexico’s rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands. New Mexico is one of three states that is not authorized by the federal government to administer the Clean Water Act discharge permitting program. Instead, New Mexico businesses and utilities rely on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency out of Dallas, TX to write and enforce these permits. In addition, given that the majority of New Mexico’s surface waters are not protected from pollution
under current federal law, a state program would ensure protection of all waters of the State and the communities and ecosystems that rely on
them.

In 2024, fund the New Mexico Environment Department’s five-year plan to build the surface water discharge permitting program. In 2025, enact legislation to remove any statutory barriers to full program development and assumption of federal program authorization.

Fix or replace aging municipal wastewater treatment plants and build modern stormwater infrastructure to prevent surface and groundwater pollution and address emerging contaminants, while saving communities money in the long run and protecting public health. In addition to controlling pollution and protecting water quality, these infrastructure investments will make communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change and decrease risks of loss of life and property destruction from flooding. Improved wastewater and stormwater infrastructure will also increase groundwater recharge during heavy precipitation events and create greater opportunities for water reuse.

In 2024 and 2025, develop a list of community wastewater treatment facilities in need of repair or replacement to protect water quality and work with local communities to develop tailored capacity and funding strategies to plan, design and construct projects. In addition, continue state, regional and local efforts to support adoption of regionalization approaches that mitigate local capacity shortfalls to operate and maintain wastewater systems.

Accelerate watershed restoration projects to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfires, flooding, and large-scale erosion to protect critical surface water sources. The record-breaking wildfire season of 2022 made clear the devastating impacts that wildfire can have on municipal water supply and irrigation water sources and infrastructure. New Mexico will utilize the abundant federal and new State conservation funding to invest in wildfire-risk reduction in critical water source areas across the State, including mechanical thinning, responsible prescribed burning, and reforestation. The 2020 Forest Action Plan provides detailed steps to reduce the risk of high-intensity wildfires in forested watersheds that supply the bulk of our State’s surface water supplies.

In 2024 and 2025, continue implementation of the 2020 Forest Action Plan to accelerate the pace and scale of water source protection projects. Secure additional federal funding for New Mexico projects and utilize Good Neighbor and other cooperative agreements with the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior agencies to manage wildfire risk on federal lands across New Mexico. Use the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund and other State appropriations to increase conservation work on private, Tribal, and public lands. Continue investment in the New Mexico Reforestation Center to expand post-fire reforestation and mitigate the risk of permanent forest loss posed by climate change.