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Water advocates warn committee New Mexico is ‘‘on the brink’’ of Rio Grande Compact shortfall
Summary
A former Interstate Stream Commission director told the Water & Natural Resources Committee the state faces a growing delivery debt under the Rio Grande Compact and urged swift funding and administration to avoid litigation and delivery failures.
A water-policy advocate told the Water & Natural Resources Committee during public comment that New Mexico faces an imminent risk of violating the Rio Grande Compact because depletions in the Middle Rio Grande have produced substantial delivery shortfalls.
Why it matters: the compact governs water deliveries to downstream users and to Elephant Butte Reservoir. Continued shortfalls can trigger interstate litigation and federal involvement and could force steep curtailment of local water uses.
Norm Gomm, president of New Mexico Water Advocates and a former director of the Interstate Stream Commission, told the committee: "New Mexico is on the brink of another Texas v New Mexico case in the United States Supreme Court." He described cumulative delivery shortfalls that began in 2018 and said the state had accrued "124,000 acre-feet of water delivery debt" since then.
Gomm said New Mexico ended 2024 with an immediate shortfall and that, by his calculations earlier in the meeting, the state had burned through roughly half of the compact's remaining buffer for the year. "We have 76,000 acre-feet of buffer until we hit the 200,000 acre-foot explicit debt limit in the compact. We're 76,000 acre-feet away," he stated, adding that the state had already underdelivered about 38,000 acre-feet so far in the current water year.
Gomm urged the committee to prioritize appropriations and staff resources for water administration and planning. He criticized the slow roll-out of the Water Security Planning Act funding, noting that regions tasked to do planning have not yet received the resources he said are necessary for timely action.
Committee members acknowledged the warning and asked staff to ensure the Office of the State Engineer and the Interstate Stream Commission priorities are on the interim schedule. The committee did not take action during the meeting; members asked staff to schedule briefings and to request more detailed compact accounting from the agencies.
Ending: The committee requested follow-up briefings and additional documentation on compact accounting and the status of regional water-security planning funds so members can assess options before the next legislative session.
