New Mexico Republicans Balk
At Water Conservation Plans

LAS CRUCES, N.M. —(AP)— A proposal that would require farmers to submit water conservation plans may face revision, considering the icy reception it received during a legislative committee meeting.

"Obviously, from the reaction today, it is going to require a whole lot more discussions," state Engineer Tom Turney said after a meeting last week.

Under the proposal, farmers would have to apply for agricultural water rights and submit a "farm conservation plan" detailing how they would try to reduce irrigation needs.

The proposal is an effort to meet demands of a two year-old state law that requires the state engineer to ensure such water rights do not run contrary to the conservation of water.

But several Republican members of the Water and Natural Resources Committee bristled at the idea, questioning the accuracy of data that estimated water savings under different irrigation techniques, such as sprinkler systems.

State Rep. Stevan Pearce, R-Hobbs, and state Sen. Patrick Lyons, R-Cuervo, took offense at provisions that said the only sure way to reduce water use during irrigation was to "plant low-water-use crops rather than high water users or reduce the acreage in production."

Crops that use relatively large amounts of water, such as pecans and cotton, are staples of New Mexico agriculture.

"I see a nice planned economy here," Pearce told Brian Wilson, chief of the state engineer's Water Use and Conservation Bureau and author of the report. "But I don't see where profitability is factored into your equation."

Pearce accused the office of "suddenly wanting to impose its will into the lives of farmers."

Wilson denied wanting to tell farmers what to plant.

"We are simply trying to encourage farmers to practice efficient water-use practices," Wilson said.

Wilson said the state engineer's office is trying to protect downstream users' water rights and the state from potential attempts by El Paso, Texas, to secure additional water.

On another matter, Michael Berger, chairman of the Governor's Task Force on Water, focused on an attorney general's opinion that said leaving water in a river to enhance wildlife habitat, for instance, could be considered a "beneficial use," a legal standard that must be met for a water permit to be issued.

Berger's panel urged the Legislature take up the issue, called in-stream flows.

The task force also concluded that, because all surface water rights in the state are fully appropriated, water rights for in-stream flows would have to be acquired at market values and from the present rights holders.

Turney said the recommendation is intended to ensure that present water-rights holders would be compensated if federal environmental officials tried to establish year-round flow in the Rio Grande to protect so-called "endangered" species.

The task force also wants the Legislature to consider requiring that water rights acquired for in-stream flows be contiguous to the area benefited. That way, for instance, water rights could not be acquired from Albuquerque to ensure in-stream flows south of Truth or Consequences, Turney said.