New Mexico lawmakers question fallowing as way to reduce water use along the Rio Grande
Some New Mexico lawmakers are warning that the state’s fight with neighboring Texas over management of one of North America’s longest rivers is still brewing despite a proposed settlement and that leaving farmland unplanted won’t be a long-term answer to ensuring Texas gets its share
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some New Mexico lawmakers are warning that leaving farmland unplanted along one of North America’s longest rivers won’t be a long-term answer to ensuring Texas gets its share of the Rio Grande under a pending settlement that would end a yearslong fight over the river's management.
Members of the powerful Legislative Finance Committee met Tuesday in Las Cruces, not far from the border with Texas. On the agenda were briefings from top water managers about the history of the dispute and the creation of a task force that will be charged with developing a plan for implementing the proposed agreement.
“The work ahead in the lower Rio Grande is significant and we know that and we see that and we're prepared to take it on. We have a plan,” said Hannah Riseley-White, interim director of the Interstate Stream Commission.
That plan calls for reducing use through a combination of efforts that range from paying farmers not to pump groundwater to leasing surface water, fallowing farmland and making infrastructure improvements.
