The Animas River in Farmington is part of the Colorado River Basin System. New Mexico water officials told a Congressional committee last week that the Colorado River Basin states must adapt to extreme droughts and involve tribes in water decisions. (Anthony Jackson / Albuquerque Journal)
Copyright © 2021 Albuquerque Journal
Colorado River Basin states must adapt to extreme droughts, prepare for a drier climate, and involve tribes in water decisions, New Mexico water officials told a congressional panel on Friday.
The basin serves 40 million people in seven states.
New Mexico state engineer John D’Antonio said water managers should find a way to balance scientific data and legal obligations as the basin enters a third decade of drought.
“The system needs to be addressed, not only for droughts worse than we have seen today, but also for shortened rainy periods, from an infrastructure and public health and safety standpoint,” D’Antonio told a subcommittee on natural resources for the House.
The water diverted from the Colorado from the San Juan Chama Project promotes natural river flows along the Rio Grande in New Mexico.
But the state received about 40% less water this year than expected from this project.
New Mexico is entitled to 11% of the water in the Colorado River and currently uses approximately half of that allotment.
D’Antonio said the state’s future plans to “develop” these water rights include such initiatives as the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.
The US Bureau of Reclamation declared the first water shortage in the Colorado River earlier this year. Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico are expected to receive less water over the next year as a result.
Reclamation also complements Lake Powell levels this year by releasing nearly 59 billion gallons from Navajo Reservoir in New Mexico, Blue Mesa in Colorado, and Flaming Gorge in Utah and Wyoming.
Daryl Vigil, the water manager for Jicarilla Apache Nation, said that now is a “crucial moment” to involve tribes in management decisions.
The 30 tribes in the catchment area own approximately 25% of the water rights on the Colorado River. “We don’t have to recreate the wheel in terms of a (management) model,” said Vigil.
He pointed to renegotiating water contracts in the Columbia River Basin. Tribes were recognized as equal decision-makers with state and federal governments rather than being consulted after the apportionment agreements were made.
“(Tribes) have lived not just hundreds, but thousands of years of sustainable and adaptable living,” Vigil said. “We know the importance of honoring the very things that keep us alive.”
Theresa Davis is a member of the Report for America Corps, a water and environmental researcher for the Albuquerque Journal.
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