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Resident warns Luna County commission that data centers and water-rights sales may harm local farming
Summary
A Luna County resident raised concerns that purchases of water rights and incoming data centers could leave farmland bare and harm local agriculture and wildlife, questioning whether data-center water use will deliver lasting local economic benefits.
Rebecca Pettis Hughes, speaking as a Luna County resident, urged commissioners to consider the long-term effects of water-rights sales and incoming data centers in the region. She linked past purchases of water rights for an energy plant north of town to visible land-use changes and warned that data centers could further reduce available water for farms and wildlife.
"When the water rights were bought off of farms to be used when the energy plant was put in north of town... those farms are not worked anymore, but they're bare," Pettis Hughes said, and added that "data centers use a lot of water, and I don't believe, anything that I've seen shows that the income that will be long lasting..." She also said she was concerned about more dry farmland and urged conservation of agricultural water use that supports local food production and wildlife.
A commissioner asked whether she was referring to companies such as Duke Energy buying up water rights; Pettis Hughes confirmed she was. The session did not include a board response or formal motion on the issue during the work session.
The remarks came during the meeting's public-comment period and did not contain a presentation of data or a formal policy proposal; commissioners listened and asked one clarifying question.
