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Santa Fe water staff: supply about 150% of demand; no emergency recommended
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Summary
Interim Public Utilities Director Jesse Roach told the Public Works & Utilities Committee that staff's 2025 annual report shows roughly 150% water supply relative to demand and a water-resources indicator of about 7; staff recommended no water-emergency declaration and scheduled two outreach webinars on April 30.
Interim Public Utilities Director Jesse Roach told the Santa Fe Public Works & Utilities Committee on April 20 that the department's 2025 annual report and accompanying 2026 water-management memo indicate the city has not met the threshold for declaring a water emergency.
"We have almost a 150% supply compared to demand," Roach said, summarizing the department's evaluation under existing administrative procedures. He said the department's water-resources indicator'a weighted score based on groundwater health (40%), surface-water availability (30%) and the county drought monitor (30%)'was "about 7 on that scale." Roach said both measures support the recommendation not to declare an emergency.
The memo and annual report are prepared to meet a code requirement to assess supply and demand and report to the city manager each April, Roach said. He told councillors the presentation will be repeated at the next Governing Body meeting and that staff will hold two public webinars on April 30 (9 a.m. and 6 p.m.) to explain the report and take questions.
Roach said the annual report will now appear in two formats: a shorter eight-page newsletter highlighting year-to-year changes and a longer document that satisfies statutory and administrative reporting requirements. He encouraged committee members to read the full annual report packet and provide feedback.
Committee members did not press for additional immediate actions after the presentation; Roach stood for questions and said staff will continue outreach and monitoring. The committee adjourned after routine business; the report will be considered again by the Governing Body next week.
