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Key Conservation Issues:

Water

New Mexico is the fifth driest state in the country, with significant portions of the state receiving less than 10 inches of rainfall annually. Additionally, approximately 87% of the state relies on groundwater for public water supplies, including drinking water and irrigation. New Mexico’s Native nations – tribes and pueblos – and traditional land grant and acequia communities depend to a large extent on access to adequate clean water. Much of this groundwater is generated each year through snowmelt and rainfall, both of which have become more unpredictable due to the changing climate.

At the same time, New Mexico’s natural beauty, cultural diversity, and vast public lands consistently draw new residents to the state each year, increasing demand for already scarce water resources through increased development and demand, with a dwindling supply. These challenges are made worse by the long-standing tension and complexity of water rights, access, and liability over New Mexico’s decreasing water resources. These dynamics have fueled disputes over the best ways to manage New Mexico’s waterways and rivers, and resulted in campaigns ranging from diverting watersheds, using water instead of preserving it, and/or prioritizing short term use over long-term water quality impacts.

In May 2023, the US Supreme Court gutted protections for our nation’s wetlands. They ruled in Sackett v EPA that the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) does not protect wetlands except under specific and narrow circumstances. The impact on New Mexico is devastating: as much as 94% of New Mexico’s surface waters have lost protection under the CWA. The impact is so substantial that the national advocacy group American Rivers designated “all rivers in New Mexico” as the most endangered US water system for 2024. 

New Mexico also has numerous groundwater Superfund sites due to mining, military, and other industrial operations. For example, western New Mexico has 259 legacy mine sites that produced uranium, 137 of which have no record of reclamation. These sites continue to leach uranium and waste into the watershed, land, and surrounding communities, which has led to high levels of cancer, wildlife die-off, and other impacts.

In the desert, we are constantly reminded that without a clean, sustainable supply of water, we can’t survive. The challenge of meeting the growing demands for water with the same – or diminished – supply, and how we meet that challenge, is likely to define the future of our Land of Enchantment.

Río Grande del Norte National Monument

The Río Grande carves a deep gorge through layers of volcanic basalt flows and ash, nearby cottonwoods and willows shelter abundant songbirds and waterfowl, and an amazing array of wildlife dwells among the piñon and juniper woodlands and the mountaintops of ponderosa.
Photo: Flickr BLM

Know the Score > Take Action

See the Related VotesStrategies for Action

Know the Score > Take Action

Strategies for Water

Actions that promote healthy rivers and a clean, sustainable supply of water for New Mexicans:

Thank you!

New Mexico’s rivers, streams and wetlands are suffering from the impacts of climate change, other direct human activity, and weakening regulatory protections. However, there is a regulatory tool that can help mitigate the impacts of climate change and control other human impacts on water quality: Outstanding National Resource Waters (ONRW) petitions. ONRW offers the highest level of protection under the federal Clean Water Act and protects waters of exceptional recreational, ecological, cultural or spiritual significance. Its most important component is the requirement that water quality cannot be degraded below the quality that existed at the time of the designation.

New Mexico approved the first ONRW in 2005. Recently, Native nations, rural communities, outdoor recreation organizations and conservation groups have been engaged with the Surface Water Quality Bureau to put forward ONRW petitions. In 2022, the Water Quality Control Commission approved two petitions totaling 306 stream miles and 43 acres of wetlands. The first petition protected a large part of the Upper Pecos watershed, including the area around a proposed new mine. The second petition included the Upper Rio Grande from the junction with the Taos River to the Colorado border and included the headwaters of the Jemez. In 2024, there is a draft petition that includes parts of the Rio Chama, various Special Trout Waters, and waters in parks and monuments. The collaborative efforts are helping preserve New Mexico’s waters and the life they support.

Actions that threaten our rivers and water resources:

No thank you!

On May 25th, 2023, the Supreme Court released a devastating ruling eliminating federal safeguards for our waterways by gutting the Clean Waters Act. In the decision, they ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot enforce protections for our nation’s wetlands. The new danger is that this language could easily be applied to all surface waters. Without these federal protections and under this narrow interpretation, New Mexico could lose federal protection for as much as 94% of our surface waters. These waterways provide drinking water for 4 out of 10 New Mexicans, supply water for irrigation, and provide habitat for wildlife and recreation while recharging our vulnerable aquifers. New Mexico is now one of only three states without a permitting program to protect our surface waters from pollution discharge. Since this ruling, the NMCC and other water allies throughout the state have had to pivot to try and address this lack of protection as expeditiously as possible but unfortunately, New Mexico remains without its own state led water permitting program.

Communicate with the Governor and your Legislators

Whether you’re congratulating them on their score or expressing your disappointment, be direct, courteous and polite.

The most important part is letting them know that you are paying close attention to how they vote or, in the case of the Governor, what actions she takes on legislation that affects our air, land, and water.

Calling your legislator directly and sending letters through regular mail remain by far the most effective ways to communicate with your legislators.

The Governor and Lieutenant Governor can always be contacted at the State Capitol. Except during the legislative session, state legislators should be contacted in their home districts, as listed on the current Legislators page.

To find your House District number and Representative, visit our map here.

To find your Senate District number and Senator, visit our map here.

We take on tough fights to protect New Mexico, but these efforts in the State Capitol and around the state require financial resources. We can only win when we work together. Please join other New Mexicans in becoming a Conservation Voter today!

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