HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 48

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

Thomas A. Anderson

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE STATE ENGINEER TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT OF NEW MEXICO'S WATER OBLIGATIONS, NEEDS AND RESOURCES.

     WHEREAS, water is New Mexico's most precious natural resource; and

     WHEREAS, the availability of water is critical to New Mexico's ability to support agriculture, manufacturing, residential development, recreational opportunities and other endeavors that are important to the state's progress, economic development and quality of life; and

     WHEREAS, there exists a need to ensure that the state can meet the various demands on the water that is available to its users;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the office of the state engineer be requested to conduct a comprehensive assessment of New Mexico's water resources, needs and obligations as projected over the next fifty years and that the assessment include specific flow rates, capacities and quantities of the state's various water systems, legal demands on those systems and the projected abilities of those systems to meet the demands placed upon them; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the office of the state engineer be requested to make its report to the appropriate interim committee of the legislature by December 15, 2005; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the state engineer.

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