State Engineer urges staffing, data upgrades and funding for Rio Grande litigation and Indian water‑rights settlements

Elizabeth Anderson, state engineer designate, and Hannah Risley White, director of the Interstate Stream Commission, presented a multi‑part budget request focused on modernizing water management, implementing the governor’s 50‑year water action plan and supporting Indian water‑rights settlements.

Nut graf: The office asked for recurring salary adjustments to retain technical staff, $3 million for a real‑time water measurement system and replacement of a 30‑year old Waters database. Officials also sought funds for litigation in the Rio Grande case and asked the Legislature to approve a recurring general‑fund swap to reduce agency reliance on depleted trust funds.

Staffing, data and modernization

Anderson said agencies are losing experienced technical staff and sought recurring funding for competitive salary adjustments. “We have a salary gap,” she said, summarizing the governor’s executive recommendation for $2.6 million to address compensation. She described the need to recruit and retain lawyers, engineers and hydrologists whose training takes years: losing staff can delay work for five years until a new hire is fully trained.

The office also requested nonrecurring and recurring funding for modern data tools: an ask for $3 million to expand a real‑time water measurement system and funding to replace the Waters database, which Anderson described as “a 30‑year old database” that represents security risks and daily operational limitations. She said the adjudication database (RATS) had earlier received funding and that both systems will be integrated.

Rio Grande litigation and settlements

Hannah Risley White described ongoing litigation and settlement negotiations related to the Rio Grande Compact and Indian water‑rights settlements. She said the last trial experience had a burn rate of about $3 million per year and the office currently has roughly $2.9 million available from a previous special. The executive recommended $5 million for continued litigation support and $35 million for Indian water‑rights settlements while the LFC recommended $20 million for settlements. Risley White said settlements and litigation funding are important to leverage federal settlement funding and to allow on‑the‑ground solutions to proceed in parallel with legal negotiations.

Trust fund swap and fiscal sustainability

Officials urged the committee to approve a trust‑fund swap in the executive recommendation that would replace recurring agency reliance on the Irrigation Works Construction Fund and the Rio Grande Income Fund with general fund support so the trust funds can be returned to their intended, largely nonrecurring uses. Agency staff warned that invested balances that previously generated returns have been reduced and that continued drawdown for daily operations creates solvency pressures and reduces available funds for acequia infrastructure and other statutory uses.

Water Security Planning Act and regional planning

Both Anderson and Risley White described progress implementing the Water Security Planning Act and the governor’s 50‑year water action plan and requested $800,000 in recurring funding to expand the planning shop. They said the agency produced a discussion draft of rules and guidelines after extensive public engagement and will convene future regional planning efforts once rules are finalized.

What committee members asked and next steps

Senators asked for clarity about the recurring nature of the trust‑fund swap (agency staff said the proposed swap would be recurring), for more detail on litigation balances and for the status of ARPA funds for dam projects. Committee members also sought numbers on how many meters will be added through the metering program and asked for more detailed breakdowns of settlement‑related obligations. Agency staff offered to provide the committee with one‑page summaries and site‑specific project lists.

Ending: The office left lawmakers with a multi‑year implementation agenda that hinges on competitive staff salaries, modernization of measurement and database systems, and legislative approval for litigation and settlement funding and a trust‑fund swap to protect long‑term solvency.