ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A panel of New Mexico water managers voted Thursday to end work on an environmental review related to a proposal to divert and store water from the Gila River.
The Interstate Stream Commission’s 7-2 vote comes in a years-long battle over the future of the river.
Supporters of the diversion project had argued it was vital to supplying drought-stricken communities and irrigation districts in southwestern New Mexico with a new source of water. But environmentalists have maintained that the effort would result in a $1 billion boondoggle for the benefit of a few property owners.
Officials cited the cost, missed deadlines and management concerns for the decision to pull the plug. Commission Chairman Mark Sanchez said the state already has spent about $16 million on planning for the proposed diversion.
“It’s time to end the process,” he said during a meeting.
Under the Arizona Water Settlements Act, New Mexico is entitled to 14,000 acre-feet of water a year, or about 4.5 billion gallons. State officials had opted to build a diversion system, as that alternative opened the door to more federal funding. The state would have received less had it pursued other water projects in the region.
It missed a deadline last December to have the environmental review completed and approved by federal officials in order to free up additional funding. The New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity, created to oversee funding and planning, still has money it could spend on a regional water projects.
Environmentalists and some politicians praised the commission’s decision.
“For the past 15 years, the diversion planning process has fumbled along and spent a lot of money to get to the inevitable conclusion that the Gila diversion was not going to work,” said Allyson Siwik, executive director of the Gila Conservation.
New Mexico Wild Executive Director Mark Allison said it wouldn’t have been responsible to spend more money on completing the environmental impact statement process given that the state’s coffers have been significantly strained by the decline in oil prices and economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
There already are irrigation and small diversion structures along the Gila. But U.S. Sen. Tom Udall said developing a larger diversion as proposed would have come at a high environmental price for the river. He called the Gila a jewel that needed to be protected.
“To sacrifice it to a project that the state can’t afford and that might not ever yield enough water would be irresponsible,” the New Mexico Democrat said. “Moving forward, we must look at conservation measures and find better and cheaper ways to ensure adequate water supplies for southwestern New Mexico.”
Udall and fellow Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich introduced legislation in May to designate portions of the Gila River as “wild and scenic” as a way to provide more protections for the waterway and its tributaries.
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