Acequia groups, state agencies outline capacity and disaster-recovery needs as storms and fires erode centuries‑old irrigation systems

Paula Garcia, director of the New Mexico Acequia Association, told the Water & Natural Resources committee that acequia technical assistance requires both technical expertise and cultural competence and that acequias view water “as the lifeblood of our communities.” She said NMAA has worked with more than 600 acequias over multiple decades and now inventories about 700 acequias across 22 counties.

Garcia outlined four areas of technical assistance—governance, financial management, infrastructure and disaster recovery—and said NMAA’s Secchia Community Ditch Education Program has been funded through a line item in the DFA Local Government Division since 2007. She told the committee that the line item is currently funded at $498,000 per year and is allocated via an RFP process that NMAA must bid for.

Jonathan Martinez of the Interstate Stream Commission described the Acequia Community Ditch Infrastructure Fund (ACDIF), created by statute in 2019 to provide $2.5 million annually for planning, engineering and construction of irrigation‑works projects. Martinez said ISC has increased staff and capacity since 2021, and that when capital outlay and special appropriations are included the practical annual program support has been closer to $5–5.5 million—still short of stated needs. He summarized recent ISC completion rates for funded projects: about 20 of 29 projects (≈69%) in FY23, 36 of 40 (≈90%) in FY24 and 33 of 36 (≈92%) in FY25.

Manuel Luna of the Office of the State Auditor described audit‑compliance assistance for small local public bodies (entities under $500,000 revenue). He said OSA’s program funds tier certifications and agreed‑upon procedures reports, connects subdivisions to approved independent public accountants and has modernized OSA Connect to enable digital signatures. Luna said the program helped 35 acequias last year with tier certifications/AUPs and enabled $9 million in previously withheld capital‑outlay funds to become accessible to compliant entities in FY25.

Committee members pressed presenters on disaster‑response coordination. Representative Romero and others asked how NMDOT can be used for rapid debris removal; Garcia and Martinez said DOT’s procurement and equipment have proved valuable during emergency responses (e.g., Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon and the Black Fire), but those practices were largely ad hoc and not yet institutionalized as a standing state program. Garcia said approximately 150 acequias were impacted by disasters over the past three years and another ~50 were recently hit by flooding, and she urged reinstating or codifying rapid debris‑removal support so local acequias can move from emergency removal to permanent repairs.

Several legislators asked about scaling assistance. Presenters recommended increasing the dedicated technical‑assistance line item (the Secchia Community Ditch Education Program), codifying the program to protect it from year‑to‑year budget changes, and expanding ISC and OSA staffing for hands‑on project support and audit compliance. Representative Herrera and others suggested adding more regional staff (for example, two full‑time staff per planning district) so volunteer governance groups and rural communities can participate effectively in regional water planning and capital project implementation.

The committee adjourned the panel after a final round of questions and moved on to a separate presentation on regional planning and the Texas v. New Mexico settlement.