The Gila Settlement was signed into law in December 2004 as part of the Arizona Water Settlements Act. The settlement allows New Mexico to divert up to 14,000 acre-feet per year from the Gila and San Francisco Rivers and provides up to $128 million in federal subsidy for construction of a project.

The Consumptive Use and Forbearance Agreement (CUFA) is the legal agreement under the Settlement that governs the conditions under which New Mexico can divert water without harming downstream senior water rights holders. The diversion parameters do not take into consideration minimum flows and other critical parameters necessary to protect the river's ecosystem. If water were diverted according to the CUFA, flows on the Gila River would be reduced primarily in winter and spring. More data and research are needed however to address more specifically the potential impacts to the ecological values of the river.

Following through on Governor Richardson’s June 2007 policy statement, the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) initiated in late October 2007 a series of four workshops for stakeholders involved in discussions of how funding and water will be used under the Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA). The workshops brought together municipal and agricultural water users, local governments, conservation groups and state and federal water and wildlife management agencies to discuss critical issues in the planning process and facilitate consensus on key goals and objectives for moving forward under the AWSA.

As a result of a lack of agreement regarding the Gila planning process, Governor Richardson vetoed $945,000 for “ Gila Basin water development” during the 2007 legislative session. The Gila-San Francisco Coordinating Committee process has been on hiatus ever since. The Governor’s policy statement laid the groundwork for developing a new planning process that establishes Gila River protection as a priority as New Mexico implements the AWSA and for redirecting the Gila planning process to analyze the range of alternatives, “with the ‘no diversion option’ as an essential part of the analysis.”

Participants in the workshops agreed to the need for increased stakeholder involvement, use of a consensus-based process, and need for identification and evaluation of the feasibility of all water supply alternatives for southwestern New Mexico. The group also developed a consensus goal for the planning process:

“Utilize the AWSA in a cost-effective manner to balance historical and future demands against uncertain supply while protecting the environment.”

Additionally, the stakeholder group agreed to support the Interstate Stream Commission’s appropriation request of $1.5 million and the categories of “studies” that the appropriation would fund:

As communities move ahead with AWSA implementation, the Gila Conservation Coalition looks forward to a process that increases stakeholder involvement, works through consensus, and identifies and assesses the broad range of water supply/demand management alternatives available to Southwestern New Mexico. We believe that fully integrating stakeholders in an open and transparent planning process and looking objectively at all of the feasible alternatives will improve our chances for a successful outcome.

AWSA Stakeholders Provide Input on “Desired Future Conditions”

11/26/08
The AWSA Planning Process maintains a webpage that contains meeting agendas, minutes, and presentations from all of the Stakeholder Group meetings at www.awsaplanning.com

What is your vision of a water future for Southwestern New Mexico? About 30 stakeholders from the area spent a beautiful Saturday morning at a recent workshop designed to solicit input on this important question. The meeting was held as part of the Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA) water planning process that was established to find consensus on how to utilize the AWSA in a cost-effective manner to balance historical and future water demands against uncertain supply while protecting the environment. The AWSA provides New Mexico consumptive use of an additional 14,000 acre-feet of water per year from the Gila and San Francisco Rivers and a federal subsidy of $66 million to meet water supply needs regardless of whether additional water is developed in the Upper Gila Basin.

Definition of Desired Future Conditions (DFC) is the first step in outlining planning objectives, strategies and alternatives for the AWSA water planning process. For instance, if one’s vision is for a dependable supply of water to meet the needs of the various interests in the region, what are the strategies that might be used to meet this objective? They might be water reuse strategies, water conservation, groundwater management, etc.

Stakeholders representing municipal and state governments, irrigators, conservation community, business sector and general public were given 5 minutes each to present their DFC statement and supporting information. Not surprisingly, there was common ground among most stakeholders around the theme of sustainable balance of our water resources, with many mentioning the need to do this in a cost-effective manner. Water conservation in the municipal, agricultural and industrial sectors was also highlighted as a critical need.

Allyson Siwik, speaking on behalf of GRIP and the Gila Conservation Coalition, stated that the groups’ vision for the future is that the communities of Southwestern New Mexico work together to live within their means by balancing present and future human water use with available water supply and the water needs of the environment. The water budget – an inventory of water supply and demand combined with an understanding of the relationship between them -- is the tool that can be used to balance a variety of water uses with available supply. The water needs of the environment, such as ecosystems associated with springs, streams and rivers, also need to factor into the equation.

Siwik stated that balancing the water budget in a practical and cost-effective manner is necessary, and municipal and agricultural water conservation – reducing water use -- provides the greatest opportunity for cost-effectively increasing water supply. For example, the Town of Silver City water efficiency study estimated that conservation measures could produce total demand reductions of 30 – 45%. (The Gila Conservation Coalition’s economic analysis shows that municipal conservation is a more economical alternative than drilling new wells or a diversion project. See “Potential Economic Costs of a Gila River Diversion: Meeting Future Water Supply Needs in Silver City and the Central Mining District” here) Already Silver City’s Water Utilities Department has reduced per capita water demand by fixing leaks, upgrading its water distribution system, and implementing a water pricing structure that charges more for increased water use.

In the agricultural sector, farmers in Luna County have made great progress over the past 5 years in reducing their water use through implementation of drip irrigation. According to the SWNM Regional Water Plan, irrigated agriculture is the largest consumer of water in Luna County (95% of total withdrawal in 2000). Tom Bates, spokesperson for the City of Deming, reported at the workshop that to date, conversion to drip from flood irrigation has saved 30,000 afy – approximately the same amount of water that is being “mined” from the Mimbres Basin aquifer.

The Town of Silver City is interested in balancing the water budget in a sustainable, cost-effective manner. Community Development Director, Peter Russell, also identified integration of the water distribution system between Silver City and the Mining District as a means of realizing efficiencies in management of the region’s water resources. He pointed out that New Mexico’s administrative Critical Block System is an impediment to effective water management. Given that mining giant Freeport-McMoRan owns 40,000 afy of water rights in the area while the municipalities of Silver City and the Mining District combined own only 6000 afy, ending the Critical Block System would allow water rights to be transferred to where water is needed for municipal use. Russell also highlighted the possible threat of Southwest New Mexico’s water being a target for export once the mines cease operations, which could threaten the water supplies of local communities.

Todd Schulke, speaking on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and the Gila Conservation Coalition, stated his desire for protection of rivers in Southwestern New Mexico. He outlined a vision for balancing agricultural use and environmental flows on the Gila River and described a ditch head design that would keep water in the main channel of the Gila while also delivering water to irrigators. Most years during low flows, all of the Gila’s water is diverted into irrigation ditches leaving the main channel dewatered for up to 2 miles. Re-engineering the heads of the ditches would help maintain the river’s instream flow and riparian ecology.

Dutch Salmon, Gila Conservation Coalition chairman, described a future that includes improved watershed health for the Gila, San Francisco and Mimbres watersheds, thereby providing healthier habitats, boosting wildlife resources and increasing recreation benefits. He stressed that the aura and mystique of the Gila as New Mexico’s last wild river make it a unique recreational resource. According to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the state’s wildlife resources bring $1 billion to the state annually, with revenues from “appreciative users” such as birders accounting for half that total. Watershed improvements and Gila River protection, said Salmon, can play a key role in enhancing the region’s rural economy.

Topper Thorpe, representing the Gila Basin Irrigation Commission, described his group’s vision of a dependable, adequate water supply in the Gila River for irrigation, fire protection, recreation and environmental purposes. He stated that it was essential that the 14,000 afy of AWSA water be used. He said that according to the Office of the State Engineer, irrigators lost water rights in the Gila and San Francisco Rivers as a result of the Arizona v. California adjudication in 1964 and that those water rights need to be restored to irrigators. Cliff resident and irrigator, Mary Burton Riseley, took issue with this and asked that a legal analysis be done to verify its accuracy.

The Gila Conservation Coalition will continue to participate as stakeholders in the AWSA planning process to ensure that the range of water supply and demand management alternatives are analyzed. We seek to see that the area’s future water needs are met cost-effectively while protecting the environment.

One-page summaries of stakeholders’ Desired Future Conditions will be available on-line at www.awsaplanning.com . The next meeting of the AWSA Stakeholders Group will be Saturday, December 6; 8:30 am – 1pm at the Grant County Administration Building.

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