New Mexico was expected to get hotter and dryer in the next five decades, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state must find new sources of water to prevent industries from drying up the state’s freshwater supplies.
She announced Jan. 30 a 50-year water plan, developed over the past several years, that the governor said will better prepare the state for an expected loss of 25 percent of New Mexico’s freshwater during that time frame.
The plan was presented at the end of January in a press conference at the State Capitol in Santa Fe where Lujan Grisham was surrounded by supportive cabinet members, lawmakers and local leaders.
It will include a water education plan aiming to reduce local consumption by 10 percent, incentives for new technology to cut agricultural use by 20 percent and establishing a program to collect statewide water loss data.
The plan also entailed a permitting program for surface water discharge, better regulating potential impacts to rivers, streams and lakes, and investments in forest management to reduce wildfire threats.