Governor Richardson Promises to Protect the Gila River
The Gila River, New Mexico’s last free-flowing river, has been named one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers, by the organization American Rivers. In making the announcement last week, Governor Bill Richardson pledged his support to protect the Gila by considering statutory protection to prevent construction of a dam or diversion project on the river.
As one of the few remaining un-dammed rivers in the Southwest, the Gila deserves long-term protection, and the Gila Conservation Coalition applauds Governor Richardson’s commitment to the river’s protection.
The Gila’s natural cycle of flows is critical to maintaining its riparian forest of cottonwoods and sycamores, intact communities of native fish, including the threatened loach minnow and spike dace, and habitat for more than 250 species of bird, such as the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher. The Gila has been identified as a top conservation priority in the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. Given the Gila’s rich natural and cultural history, fishermen, birdwatchers, recreation enthusiasts, and heritage tourists journey to the river, making the Gila a destination for the region’s increasingly amenity-based economy.
The Gila is threatened by diversions authorized by the Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA), which encourages the state to divert 14,000 acre-feet of water annually from the Gila River and its tributary the San Francisco River. The law provides an irresponsible incentive to move forward with a water “development” project on the Gila by providing up to $128 million if a diversion were to be built. However the AWSA allows for spending $66 million of this federal money for any water-related purpose in southwestern New Mexico. This funding could finance critical water infrastructure and conservation needs that could eliminate the need for taking water out of the Gila River.
The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission has put forth the idea of an expensive diversion project, which would cost well over $300 million and create industrial infrastructure in the Cliff-Gila Valley that would blight this pastoral agricultural community. However, the need for this diversion project has not been demonstrated. There is sufficient water in aquifers under Silver City and other communities in Grant County to meet estimated future needs without addition of Gila River water. The 2006 supplement to Silver City’s 40-year water plan shows that the regional aquifer has approximately 15 million acre-feet of groundwater, with 15,900 acre-feet per year of recharge, enough to sustain the area for the long-term. Municipal conservation can achieve a 20 percent reduction in future demand, while agricultural conservation such as drip irrigation would save area farmers 30 – 50 percent of their water and energy use leading to a balanced water budget for southwestern New Mexico. As more water is needed, the future water supply needs of the area can be met 16 times more cheaply by acquiring additional water rights and drilling new groundwater wells.
The Southwest New Mexico multi-stakeholder water planning process should continue its work to plan for the region’s future water needs and to determine how to utilize the federal funds under the AWSA. In the immediate term, the stakeholder group needs to reach consensus on how to put to best use the FY09 funding allocated by the state legislature this year.
The Arizona Water Settlements Act provides southwestern New Mexico with the opportunity to use federal funding to meet its future water needs while at the same time protecting for future generations the state’s last free-flowing river.