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Solutions for New Mexico

Water and growth in New Mexico are inexorably linked. Growth cannot occur without water. Yet our cities are growing as though water were no obstacle. This cycle is unsustainable, and its effects are already apparent. Inefficient growth degrades our cities, while water trans-fers harm our rural communities and the en-vironment.

Changes must be made to ensure the long--term livability of our cities, to safeguard the long-term sustainability of our water supply, and to protect the communities and ecologi-cal habitats that stand to lose in the face of the increased movement of water and water rights.

The following are three guiding principles for New Mexico's statewide growth and water management future:

Connect growth management planning and water planning.

The problems of inefficient sprawl develop-ment and dwindling water supply are linked but our planning process has yet to catch on. To guide efficient, responsible growth in New Mexico that will preserve our water supply for the future we must think about water first and growth second. Our planning process as it is approves huge new develop-ments such as Quail Ranch to the west of Albuquerque without fully investigating their potential effects on water supply.

Make conservation the focus of urban water demand management to reduce the need for water transfers.

The cycle of water fueling growth can be slowed greatly by turning the focus of water management in our urban areas from find-ing new supplies to reducing demand. Cities in New Mexico are extremely inefficient us-ers of water. The worst of these, Albuquer-que, uses more than 205 gallons per person per day (gpppd). The city should reduce its use to 150 gpppd. Reducing water demand greatly reduces the need for water transfers and hence the impacts on habitats and rural agri-cultural communities.

Developers and municipalities that pur-chase water rights should first be required to show proof of efficient water use with the water rights they already own. If the pur-chaser has existing supplies that are being wasted, then it should not be granted per-mission to purchase more. This will encour-age conservation and efficiency in growth and water use, and will reduce the pressure on rural communities for water rights.

Work to mitigate the impacts of water transfers on third parties and make the transfer approval process more demo-cratic.

Mitigating the impacts and costs of transfer-ring water and water rights provides a two-fold benefit. First, policies to mitigate impacts benefit those third parties negatively affected by moving water. Second, such poli-cies make it more likely that water will only be transferred when it is truly beneficial to the broader public interest.

Water rights do not give ownership of wa-ter to an individual, simply the right to di-vert and use a specific amount. Area-of-origin communities must have av-enues to participation in the transfer approval process. Communities must be given the power to control their own fate, to protect their social and economic viability and the stability of their local ecosystems.

Excerpted from:
Water Fuels Sprawl: An Analysis of Water Transfers and Inefficient Growth in New Mexico
William Coyne and Jeanne Bassett
Albuquerque: NMPIRG Education Fund, 2002
35 pp., $10 (shipping included), paper

Order from:
NMPIRG Education Fund
PO Box 40173
Albuquerque, NM 87196