NM Governor says state’s water crisis is ‘real and it is serious’

Without sustainable sources of clean drinking water, New Mexico won’t be able to attract companies or capitalize on economic development opportunities, Gov. Susana Martinez said Wednesday. Martinez spoke to a roomful of water managers gathered for a meeting hosted by the New Mexico Rural Water Association. The association’s members have been looking for ways to make the most of the drought-stricken state’s limited fresh water supplies while grappling with aging wells and pipelines. New Mexico needs an estimated $1 billion for water infrastructure, according to state officials. “The water crisis we face is real and it is serious,” Martinez said. “And as I’ve said before, we cannot control the duration or intensity of the drought, but we can control how we respond to it.” In 2013, when New Mexico led the nation with the worst and most widespread drought conditions, the state identified nearly 300 drinking water systems that were considered vulnerable. Many of them depended on a single source of water and had no backup plan if conditions worsened. Lawmakers answered in 2014 with nearly $90 million in state funding for public works projects related to water and wastewater improvements, as well as the restoration of watersheds. New Mexico has been through four straight years of severe drought, and the past decade has seen more dry years than wet ones. However, the last two monsoon seasons have helped, and forecasts call for above-normal chances for precipitation this spring...more