Gov’s signature sidelines Gila diversion group Written by Geoffrey Plant on April 6, 2021
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 200 into law Monday. Titled “Water Trust Board Projects and N.M. Unit Fund,” the law, which was passed by the Legislature during its regular session, assigns the advisory role over how $80 million reserved for water projects in southwest New Mexico is spent to the N.M. Water Trust Board, while simultaneously prohibiting the money from being spent on a Gila River diversion.
The New Mexico Entity of the Central Arizona Project, formed in 2015 to design, build and operate a series of diversions with which it intended to capture up 14,000 acre-feet of surface water annually under the terms of the 2004 federal Arizona Water Settlements Act, had tried in fits and starts to recast itself in the advisory role since the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission voted to defund its diversion project las
March 10, 2021
Most SWNM solons oppose bill to sideline diversion group Written by Geoffrey Plant on March 10, 2021
(Press Staff Photo by Geoffrey Plant)
Last month, District 38 state Rep. Rebecca Dow and District 39 state Rep. Luis Terrazas, both Republicans representing parts of Grant County, spoke against HB 200, “Water Trust Board Projects and N.M. Unit Fund,” ahead of a House vote on the legislation. The proposal seeks to sideline the New Mexico Entity of the Central Arizona Project from its proposed future role as a regional water authority and prohibit more Arizona Water Settlements Act funds from being spent on a Gila River diversion.
February 12, 2021
Gila diversion group asserts primacy as legislation threatens Written by Geoffrey Plant on February 12, 2021
With a proposal in Santa Fe threatening its very existence, the New Mexico Entity of the Central Arizona Project the group that was formed in 2015 to build the ultimately unsuccessful Gila diversion project is having to defend the role it could play when it comes to administering the more than $80 million in the N.M. Unit Fund.
The massive pot of money is destined to be spent, per the 2004 federal Arizona Water Settlements Act, either on a ※New Mexico Unit,” i.e., a surface water diversion, or on ※other water utilization alternatives to meet water supply demands in the Southwest Water Planning Region of New Mexico.”
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority will install 10,000 more of these automated water meters with $2 million from the New Mexico Water Trust Board. (Journal File)
The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority has received $2 million from the New Mexico Water Trust Board to update water meters.
The agreement, finalized at Wednesday’s board meeting, includes an $800,000 loan and $1.2 million grant.
About 10,000 Advanced Metering Infrastructure water meters will be installed with the money.
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Automated meters provide real-time water use data for customers and the water authority, said Chief Financial Officer Stan Allred.
They save money by reducing the workload of employees checking traditional meters, and can provide more accurate water bill amounts.