For legislators serious about water governance, these two presentations are essential viewing
At recent NM Water Advocates workshops, Nat Chakeres, General Counsel for the Office of the State Engineer, and Dr. Maurice Hall, an expert water resources engineer and senior advisor at the Environmental Defense Fund, delivered two of the clearest and most compelling explanations yet of New Mexico’s urgent water governance challenges—and how to address them. Click the images below to access the video recordings.
1. Nat Chakeres – State Engineer’s Strategic Approach
Chakeres, the state’s lead water attorney, argues that the time for delay is over. His key messages:
- In western water management, there is no better alternative to a negotiated agreement.
- Litigation is not a prerequisite to serious negotiation.
- We must act now to prevent a new U.S. Supreme Court case with Texas.
- The State must quantify all Middle Rio Grande water rights, including the time-immemorial rights of six Pueblos.
- The state must begin active measurement and administration of diversions.
- Priority Administration doesn’t work well or consider cities, hospitals, schools, homes and the sacred, the spiritual, and the living.
- These water demands and other equitable claims are not going away.
- Above all, New Mexico needs bold state and local leadership to manage our way out of crisis.
We don’t need another lawsuit—we need negotiated agreements, real water measurement & management, and bold leadership now.
2. Dr. Maurice Hall – Managing Aquifers as Infrastructure
Hall calls for a fundamental shift in how New Mexico manages groundwater. He explains that aquifers—natural underground formations that store and move water—must be treated as essential infrastructure. To cope with rising temperatures and shrinking water supplies, aquifers must be actively managed, not passively depleted. Hall emphasizes that building groundwater resilience requires the State to:
- Invest in scientific understanding through sustained support for aquifer mapping and monitoring.
- Organize and modernize water use data, including full implementation of the Water Data Act and new digital tools to track and automate water use data availability for effective balancing of supply and demand.
- Delegate real authority to local leaders who are closest to the challenges and solutions.
- Set enforceable statewide standards for regional water plans.
- Support meaningful local control of shared water resources within a clear and accountable statewide framework.
“Resilience requires local leadership, real authority, and aquifer management grounded in science—not wishful thinking.”
— Maurice Hall, Ph.D., P.E., Environmental Defense Fund
Why These Presentations Matter for Legislative Action
Together, these presentations deliver essential insights. They lay out the reasons for actions by the 2026 and 2027 Legislatures. Legislators must authorize and help New Mexico to move from overuse and inadequate information to a much more resilient and secure water future.
Legislators: watch these briefings. They offer the foundation for the water governance policy decisions New Mexico must get right before it’s too late.