DALLAS - Amid a prolonged drought that prompted New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to issuethe second emergency declaration in as many years, the state has begun directing more ofits bond authority toward unfunded water projects.
"I want to be proactive by developing immediate, intermediate, and long-term strategiesto deal with the drought," said Richardson, who also named a drought task force thatincludes David Harris, executive director of the New Mexico Finance Authority.
Estimating the cost of needed water projects in the state at $4 billion, Harris told theLegislature earlier this year that the state needs to do a better job of marshalingfinancial resources to improve water supplies.
"It's going to take a greater deal of leveraging to complete a lot of these projects,"Harris said.
Under House Bill 882, recently signed into law, New Mexico will use 10% of its severancetax bond issuance for water projects ranging from conservation to development of newsupplies. Next year, Richardson expects to ask the Legislature to set aside the samepercentage of general obligation bonds for water-related projects. Voters approved $13million of GOs for water-related proposals in 2002, including debt to be used in asettlement of a water-rights dispute with Texas.
In last year's emergency, then-Gov. Gary Johnson released more than $90 million incontingency funds to pipe, truck, divert, or drill for water in drought-strickenregions. In the last session of the Legislature, millions more was appropriated forprojects such as leak detection and storage improvements, removal of thirsty salt cedartrees from stream banks, and tax breaks for sales of services and equipment to improvewater supplies.
Over the next five years, New Mexico will need at least $2.1 billion for drinking watersystems and wastewater projects, according to Carlos Romero, director ofintergovernmental relations for the NMFA.
Water-supply projects will cost about $988 million, he said. Wastewater projects werepegged at $837 million, with storm and surface water control needs estimated at $257million. About $25 million would be needed to pay for water rights.
Long-term projects to develop new supplies of water will cost at least $1.5 billion, andsome of those will take more than a decade to complete, Romero said. Among the projectsawaiting funds are the Navajo-Gallup water pipeline in northwestern New Mexico, aproposed pipeline from Ute Lake to supply water to communities in the eastern portion ofthe state, and work along the Rio Grande corridor to help communities such as Taos,Espanola, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque use water from the San Juan-Chama project.
A water trust fund to help finance projects was created by the Legislature in 2001, butJohnson vetoed the first $20 million investment in the fund.
With the 10% of severance tax bonds reserved for water projects, the trust is expectedto grow by about $10 million per year. Severance tax bonds are backed by taxes paid bymining, oil, and natural gas companies.
Richardson's drought task force holds its first meeting June 23 in Santa Fe and willhear from a drinking water work group and a drought strike team formed under Johnson.
