Tough New Mexico
Water Rule To Cost

ALBUQUERQUE — New water quality regulations could send property taxes soaring in the Land of Enchantment.

Municipalities and local government agencies discharging storm water into the Rio Grande may have to spend billions of dollars to meet new proposed New Mexico water-quality rules.

David Stoliker, executive director of the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority, says the new rules could double the authority's costs and may mean increases in the property tax.

Others facing increases include the City of Albuquerque, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the Albuquerque Metropolitan Flood Control Authority, all of whom are in a watershed covering some two million acres.

David Hogge of the New Mexico Environmental Department's Surface Water Quality Bureau says the new rules could be expensive.

The proposed rule, dealing with total maximum daily load or TMDLs, the amount of pollutants held in suspension in water, is meant to restrict the amount of fecal coliform bacteria in storm water that drains into New Mexico's waterways.

According to the New Mexico Environmental Department, capital cost of the proposed regulations could range from $1000 an acre to $55,000 an acre.

Solutions being discussed include sand filters, detention basins and dense vegetation. Even an educational program to encourage the public to pick up dog feces is under consideration.

During the monsoon season here, fecal coliform levels in the Rio Grande and in storm water are several thousand times higher than standards allow.

The watershed surrounding Albuquerque covers about 3200 square miles from the Jemez River to Isleta Pueblo. According to the Albuquerque Journal newspaper, about 59 percent of that area is rangeland, 23 percent is forest, seven percent is agricultural and six percent is urban land.

The various government agencies are just now beginning to study the proposal, according to Tania Soussan, an Albuquerque Journal staff writer.

The state's Environment Department is accepting public comments on the proposed regulations through Oct. 11. The New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission is expected to vote on the proposal Nov. 4.