46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

REQUESTING THE INTERSTATE STREAM COMMISSION TO INTEGRATE THE USE OF DESALINATION INTO ITS PLANS.

WHEREAS, the state of New Mexico and the rest of the southwestern region of the United States is in the midst of a severe drought and water levels in state reservoirs are at early-1950s levels; and

WHEREAS, residents of many of New Mexico's communities have expressed concerns about the availability of water to meet basic demands this year and in coming years; and

WHEREAS, all of New Mexico's stream systems and most of the state's fresh ground water reserves are fully appropriated; and

WHEREAS, the state has large reserves of brackish and saline ground water that are not being used and sources of saline ground water are found in virtually every county in the state; and

WHEREAS, the volume of saline water reserves far exceeds that of the fresh water supply stored in the state's aquifer systems; and

WHEREAS, there are state-of-the-art techniques available to facilitate the cost-effective reduction in the salinity in water to levels that meet drinking water criteria; and

WHEREAS, the United States department of energy, through Sandia national laboratories, has established an international saline water research facility in the Tularosa basin, and the ten-year goal of the facility is to reduce treatment costs to one-tenth of current costs; and

WHEREAS, the city of El Paso is constructing a ten million gallon a day reverse osmosis plant to render regional ground water potable; and

WHEREAS, there are large saline water treatment facilities in all but two of the fifty states, New Mexico being one of the two without such a facility; and

WHEREAS, desalination has been described as the "light at the end of the tunnel" in a report entitled Taking Charge of Our Water Destiny: A Water Management Policy Guide for New Mexico in the 21st Century;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the interstate stream commission be requested to integrate the use of desalination into its state water plans and that it be requested to look for avenues to reduce or remove the impediments to the development of brackish water treatment facilities in New Mexico; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that private entities such as the New Mexico water resources institute and the New Mexico waste-management and research consortium be requested to place a high priority on brackish water use and in helping communities meet their water needs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the interstate stream commission, the New Mexico water resources institute and the New Mexico waste-management and research consortium.