Senate panel advances Strategic Water Supply Act to fund brackish-water projects and aquifer mapping

Senators advanced House Bill 137, the Strategic Water Supply Act, after an hour-plus hearing that featured agency and expert testimony, supportive public comments and several opponents who urged caution on desalination and energy impacts.

Representative Susan Herrera, presenting as sponsor, told the committee that New Mexico faces declining snowpack and long-term water shortages. "There is no snow in the mountains," Herrera said. She summarized the bill as a five-part package: removing produced water from the measure, providing a funding stream to help communities build brackish-water treatment facilities, funding aquifer mapping, funding research at New Mexico State University on brackish-water treatment, and providing public-notice and protest processes for proposed wells. Herrera said the bill would make $40,000,000 available for brackish-water projects and include $19,000,000 for expanded aquifer mapping at New Mexico Tech.

Agency and technical witnesses described the bill as an initial investment to spur projects and build knowledge. Rebecca Roos, infrastructure adviser in the governor’s office, said the measure dovetails with a 50-year water plan and creates grants and contracts designed to help communities evaluate, pilot and construct brackish-water treatment systems. Former state engineer John D'Antonio, who appeared in support, told the committee that pilot testing typically precedes full-scale projects and that environmental permits and monitoring would be required.

Opponents pressed environmental and justice concerns. Alejandra Lyons of the New Mexico No Fault Solutions Coalition said the coalition opposed desalination and questioned whether desalination and produced-water solutions address underlying climate issues. "We still stand in firm opposition with the continued proposition to try to use brackish water and desalination to fix our drought," Lyons said. Other opponents and environmental groups urged studies on energy and waste handling and recommended that plants be powered by renewables and include rigorous disposal plans for concentrated waste streams.

Committee members questioned project costs, timelines and oversight. Senators asked whether $40 million would be adequate, how costs per project compared with recent plants and how the program would vet energy sources and disposal plans. Rebecca Roos said the fund is intended to support diverse project scales — from planning and pilot work to construction — and that the program would require site-specific cost analyses and compliance with existing state and federal permitting laws. Members noted that the House budget contained related appropriations; Roos said the executive included $40,000,000 for brackish projects and $19,000,000 for New Mexico Tech in the House budget (HB2) and that the funding was already discussed in the budget process.

After extended questioning and public comment, the committee recorded a bipartisan due-pass recommendation. The committee reported the bill by roll-call as 5 in favor and 4 opposed and sent the bill to Senate Finance for fiscal review.