Water is too cheap, say backers of user fee
Sun, 29/02/2004
SANTA FE -- New Mexico's most valuable public resource comes too cheaply, supporters of a new fee on water use said.
House Democratic leaders are backing a bill they say would raise $22 million a year for conservation and other water projects.
Ongoing drought, insufficient water to meet current demands, and projected population growth have combined to create a crisis, the bill's backers said.
``Water is dirt cheap now, and we're going to run out,'' said Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque.
Most of the water users in the state would pay the water resource fee, which for an average household &emdash; 2.4 residents &emdash; would add $1.10 to a monthly bill in Albuquerque, $1.13 in Las Cruces, and 66 cents in Santa Fe, according to supporters' estimates.
Domestic well owners would pay a flat $25 a year, agricultural users would be assessed $2 per acre foot annually, and other water users would pay $25 per acre foot a year. An acre foot is about 326,000 gallons.
Indian tribes, acequia associations and livestock wells would be exempt from the fee.
The proceeds could fund conservation projects such as repairing leaking water mains, lining irrigation canals, installing drip irrigation systems, and metering and reclaiming water.
The higher cost might also spur individual water conservation efforts, supporters said.
Taking a shower costs just a few cents, said David Brookshire, an economics professor at the University of New Mexico.
``The water is priced so low ... it's almost too cheap to conserve,'' he said.
The bill would distribute the estimated $22 million in revenue among several water agencies, with more than half of it earmarked for water conservation projects for agriculture &emdash; which uses nearly 70 percent of New Mexico's water &emdash; and public water suppliers, which account for about 7 percent of use.
Stewart acknowledged that the legislation &emdash; which is co-sponsored by House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, and Majority Leader Danice Picraux, D-Albuquerque, among others &emdash; may not be passed during the current, 30-day session.
``It might take a few years to do this,'' she said.
Also introduced in the House was legislation to create a Strategic Water Reserve to acquire water rights to help New Mexico during drought and to meet the legal demands of interstate water agreements.
Modeled after the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Strategic Water Reserve would be established within the Interstate Stream Commission.
Under the measure &emdash; which was proposed by a Santa Fe-based think tank, Think New Mexico &emdash; the state would lease or buy water rights from willing sellers to provide a pool of publicly held water rights on every river system.
Funding for the program would be provided by earmarking 10 percent of the state's yearly severance tax bond financing.
Rep. Joe Stell, D-Carlsbad, who chairs the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee, is a sponsor of the bill.
House Democratic leaders are backing a bill they say would raise $22 million a year for conservation and other water projects.
Ongoing drought, insufficient water to meet current demands, and projected population growth have combined to create a crisis, the bill's backers said.
``Water is dirt cheap now, and we're going to run out,'' said Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque.
Most of the water users in the state would pay the water resource fee, which for an average household &emdash; 2.4 residents &emdash; would add $1.10 to a monthly bill in Albuquerque, $1.13 in Las Cruces, and 66 cents in Santa Fe, according to supporters' estimates.
Domestic well owners would pay a flat $25 a year, agricultural users would be assessed $2 per acre foot annually, and other water users would pay $25 per acre foot a year. An acre foot is about 326,000 gallons.
Indian tribes, acequia associations and livestock wells would be exempt from the fee.
The proceeds could fund conservation projects such as repairing leaking water mains, lining irrigation canals, installing drip irrigation systems, and metering and reclaiming water.
The higher cost might also spur individual water conservation efforts, supporters said.
Taking a shower costs just a few cents, said David Brookshire, an economics professor at the University of New Mexico.
``The water is priced so low ... it's almost too cheap to conserve,'' he said.
The bill would distribute the estimated $22 million in revenue among several water agencies, with more than half of it earmarked for water conservation projects for agriculture &emdash; which uses nearly 70 percent of New Mexico's water &emdash; and public water suppliers, which account for about 7 percent of use.
Stewart acknowledged that the legislation &emdash; which is co-sponsored by House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, and Majority Leader Danice Picraux, D-Albuquerque, among others &emdash; may not be passed during the current, 30-day session.
``It might take a few years to do this,'' she said.
Also introduced in the House was legislation to create a Strategic Water Reserve to acquire water rights to help New Mexico during drought and to meet the legal demands of interstate water agreements.
Modeled after the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Strategic Water Reserve would be established within the Interstate Stream Commission.
Under the measure &emdash; which was proposed by a Santa Fe-based think tank, Think New Mexico &emdash; the state would lease or buy water rights from willing sellers to provide a pool of publicly held water rights on every river system.
Funding for the program would be provided by earmarking 10 percent of the state's yearly severance tax bond financing.
Rep. Joe Stell, D-Carlsbad, who chairs the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee, is a sponsor of the bill.