This interactive workshop had a panel of three former members of the 2022 State Engineer’s Water Policy and Infrastructure Task Force, Phil King, Ladona Clayton, and Norm Gaume. The panelists are working together currently as NM Water Ambassadors. The Water Ambassadors joint purpose is to advocate for all the water task force recommendations. The panelists each presented their highest priorities for water funding and policy, and why. The joint funding requests to the 2024 Legislature of Dr. Ladona Clayton, Executive Director, Ogallala Land and Water Conservancy, and Norm Gaume, P.E. (ret), President, Water Advocates, are available here.
As a new year begins, New Mexico’s water challenges are clear, but solutions remain unsettled. Discussions are behind closed doors. Political will, Rio Grande Compact compliance, statutory authority, agency priorities and capacity, and budget choices together frame the current state of the State’s water and the choices now facing New Mexico.