News

Santa Fe, N.M. – On Tuesday, February 11th, the New Mexico Legislature’s Senate Conservation Committee is scheduled to hear Senate Bill 37 that makes critical improvements to the state’s Strategic Water Reserve.

“New Mexico’s waters are becoming increasingly difficult to manage under the impacts of climate change,” said Zoe Barker, conservation director at Conservation Voters New Mexico. “The Strategic Water Reserve has suffered from inconsistent and inadequate funding and restrictions on how water can be allocated. SB 37 addresses both of these concerns and will help keep streams flowing for the benefit of wildlife, recreation, cultural resources and downstream deliveries.”

New Mexico’s rivers are expected to see a 25% reduction in streamflow over the next 50 years, making it increasingly difficult to meet the state’s water needs, protect fish and wildlife, and support outdoor recreation.

The state’s current Strategic Water Reserve allows the Interstate Stream Commission to buy, lease, or accept donated water, and keep that water in rivers to comply with interstate water sharing agreements, benefit threatened or endangered species, or prevent future species listings. This can help the state incentivize conservation, prevent water shortages, protect wildlife, and avoid litigation. However, funding challenges and program limitations have kept the Reserve from reaching its full potential.

“Healthy rivers are at the core of New Mexico’s environment, communities, culture, and economy. The Strategic Water Reserve is an innovative tool to keep our rivers flowing, but we must provide the resources it needs to succeed,” said Anjali Bean senior policy advisor at Western Resource Advocates. “SB 37 addresses funding challenges and program limitations to ensure the Reserve can benefit our rivers for generations to come.”

SB 37 will make much needed improvements to the Reserve by:

Protecting the Reserve’s funding

Water rights acquisitions can take years to complete, yet much of the funding allocated for the Reserve either expired or was pulled back into the general fund before it could be spent. This has caused New Mexico to miss critical opportunities to protect our rivers. For example, in 2022, a closing dairy near Socorro wanted to sell its water to the Reserve. This water would have flowed through the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, supporting critical habitat and local tourism. It also would have helped the state meet its legal obligations under interstate water sharing agreements. Unfortunately, New Mexico lost out when the dairy moved to another buyer because the state did not have sufficient funding in-hand to purchase the water.

We cannot expect families, small businesses, and other water rights holders to sell or lease their water to the state without guaranteed compensation.

SB 37 establishes a non-reverting fund – where future money can be set aside for the Reserve and cannot expire – so water rights holders can be confident that they will be paid.

Allowing the Reserve to protect groundwater

Nearly half of all water used in New Mexico comes from groundwater. Pumping groundwater faster than it can be replenished causes permanent damage to the environment. SB 37 allows the state to acquire water to restore groundwater supplies and recharge our rivers.

Ensuring the Reserve can benefit recreation and cultural uses

Keeping water in rivers can result in cascading benefits to outdoor recreation and cultural uses. SB 37 allows the Interstate Stream Commission to consider such benefits when determining which water rights to acquire for the Reserve. This will help ensure that New Mexicans get the most out of every drop of water in the Reserve.

New Mexico’s water crisis requires that we hone every tool at our disposal to stretch our water supplies and meet multiple needs,” said Tricia Snyder rivers and waters program director for New Mexico Wild. “Thank you to the bill sponsors – Senator Stefanics, Representative Dixon, Representative McQueen, and Senator Wirth – for championing this important piece of legislation.”