SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – One of the governor’s top priorities this session is protecting New Mexico’s water supply. A key bill she’s backing, that proposes recycling brackish and industrial water was heard in its first committee on Thursday.
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During Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s State of the State address, she announced the Strategic Water Supply Act was back on the table after failing last session. Now, the lawmakers supporting the bill say they’re hopeful it will be different this year.
“The reason that I’m carrying this bill is because climate change is real. I’ve seen things in the past five years that I’ve never thought imaginable,” said Rep. Susan Herrera, (D-Embudo).
Rep. Herrera said she’s seen firsthand the effects of climate change, spurring drought and drying up community acequias. Now, she’s carrying a bill for the governor that aims to alleviate the strain on limited freshwater supplies in the state by recycling brackish and industrial water. “I think we need to use all the water resources that we have and it’s part of the 50-year water plan and we keep trying to you know, trying to promulgate rules that lead to better water quality and this is part of that,” said Herrera.
Last year, the governor announced a 50-Year Plan to address freshwater shortages in the state as a response to the prediction that New Mexico will have 25% less water available in that time.
One of the key pieces of that 50-Year Plan would fund water recycling projects with private and public entities. Brackish water reserves at least 2,500 feet below the surface would be treated using a desalinization process and leftover water from oil and gas industries would be cleaned up and stored. These recycled resources would then be used for clean energy projects, advanced manufacturing, and even putting out wildfires.
Some local leaders and community members said this bill is needed as water becomes more scarce. “We’re kind of like the hub for the eastern part of the Navajo Nation and three or four different small communities in the area and we have people that are hauling water daily because of their wells going dry and it’s just heartbreaking to see,” said Denny Herrera, Mayor of Cuba, New Mexico.
Others were concerned about the costs. “I don’t think that the taxpayers should be funding the bill to clean up the mess of the oil and gas industry. We shouldn’t incentivize them in recycling that water and not contaminating more of our water,” said Zack Withers, an opposer of the bill.
The bill would also charge oil and gas producers a fee of five cents per barrel of treated water to fund strategic water projects. The bill was heard in its first committee on Thursday but the vote was postponed. Rep. Herrera said they will be bringing it back to the table with some changes.