Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Our state is facing a water crisis, and we need our elected officials to act quickly to help solve it.
As the executive director of the Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy, I see every day how important water is, especially in eastern New Mexico, which is home to the largest amount of agriculture statewide. Here, we are ground zero for water challenges, but also for local solutions being carried out by community partnerships, collective action and collaboration.
We know all too well the dangers of letting our sole finite resource of water – the Ogallala Aquifer – go dry. That’s why I’ve been proud to join private landowners, agricultural producers, and military leaders at Cannon Air Force Base and Melrose Air Force Range to preserve billions of gallons of water through the first-of-its-kind groundwater conservation Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI) project.
Building on this success, we recently announced a new Eastern New Mexico Sentinel Landscape, which will further preserve our water resources and help keep our military bases mission ready.
These efforts were made possible by the spirit of community that runs deep in the Eastern Plains -- where we know protecting our shared resources requires new, innovative thinking.
We also hope these solutions will inspire more collaboration among our rural towns and cities who face serious water supply challenges. The people of Portales can tell you first-hand the hardships that our water crisis can bring. I am pleased to see them come together to help shape a better water future for their community, and I hope others will do the same.
But we know that with limited resources, they can’t do it alone. That’s why we need the state to make water issues a priority; to take bigger, bolder, and more immediate actions now to secure our water future.
The revitalized regional water planning campaign, Main Stream New Mexico, led by the Interstate Stream Commission, is a positive first step. We hope the ideas and wisdom gathered from New Mexico communities through this process will result in proactive solutions like the ones we are deploying here.
As we look toward the next legislative session in January, we must also start funding our water agencies at more serious levels. The incremental progress we’ve made is simply not enough to meet the moment we are in or provide the support that our communities need. Some of these agencies need double the staff they have now, and 1%, 2% or 3% increases a year will not get the job done.
I know water issues can be complicated, but they are not impossible. In addition to new policies and funding, we need the political will to make it happen. I’ve been proud to join other New Mexicans to urge our state leaders to make water issues a priority now.
The message is simple: water can’t wait. In eastern New Mexico, we are not waiting, and we hope our leaders in Santa Fe won’t either. The future of our state depends on it.
Ladona Clayton is executive director of the Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy, which pursues conservation easements on both groundwater and surface rights. Contact her:
