SENATE MEMORIAL 19

46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE INTERSTATE STREAM COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE BONITO LAKE AS A SOURCE OF WATER TO MEET ITS DELIVERY OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE PECOS RIVER COMPACT AS WELL AS TO PROVIDE A SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY FOR AREAS WITHIN THE PECOS RIVER SYSTEM.

     WHEREAS, the United States supreme court has found that New Mexico has undelivered water to Texas under the Pecos River Compact; and

     WHEREAS, the Rio Bonito is a tributary of the Pecos river, and Bonito lake, located at the headwaters of the Rio Bonito, impounds water that is then conveyed westerly into the Tularosa basin, a basin that is not hydrologically connected to the Pecos river system; and

     WHEREAS, the out-of-basin conveyance of water from a river tributary to the Pecos river affects the flows into the Pecos river; and

     WHEREAS, planning documents developed by water users in the Tularosa basin indicate their intention to ultimately end their reliance on diversions from Bonito lake; and

     WHEREAS, the current drought has demonstrated that for the Ruidoso area, nestled in the southern Rocky mountains and on the western edge of the Pecos river system, continued reliance on existing surface and ground water supplies may be problematic; and

     WHEREAS, the Ruidoso area requires additional water supplies in order to provide a sustainable water supply for its existing population; and

     WHEREAS, Bonito lake could aid the state in meeting its delivery obligations to Texas under the Pecos River Compact and at the same time provide a much-needed water supply for the Ruidoso area; and

     WHEREAS, meeting New Mexico's obligations on the Pecos river is a matter of statewide public interest;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the interstate stream commission be requested to investigate the potential to use water from Bonito lake to aid the state in meeting its delivery obligations under the Pecos River Compact while simultaneously providing a water supply for the Ruidoso area; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the interstate stream commission be requested to investigate the potential of alternate sources of supply for water users in the Tularosa basin, including analysis of using brackish waters and water from the Salt basin in southern Otero county, to ensure that Otero county continues to have abundant water supplies for its entire population and for future economic expansion and population growth; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that because meeting delivery obligations on the Pecos river is of statewide public interest, the potential issuance of state-issued general obligation bonds to provide funds for alternate water supplies for the Ruidoso and Alamogordo areas should be pursued expeditiously; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the interstate stream commission make a report of its investigations to the appropriate interim water committee; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the interstate stream commission and the New Mexico finance authority.

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