To our leaders: Water issues can't wait

We’ve all heard the saying “water is life, or in Spanish, “agua es la vida.” But have you ever thought to ask this essential question: What are we doing to protect it?

As New Mexico struggles through another summer of fire and flooding, we find ourselves wondering when our elected officials will answer that question and start treating the water crisis with the seriousness it deserves.

We are a group of individuals from across the state — from Northern New Mexico to the frontera down south, from ancestral homelands of Haak’u (Acoma) to the Bootheel and over to the Eastern plains — with a direct and special relationship with water.

Some of us are acequia stewards and farmers, whose ancestors have taught us how to tend these lands for centuries. Some of us are conservationists, devoted to protecting the crown jewels of our state for the plants, animals and people who live here.

Some of us are nonprofit leaders and everyday citizens working to prepare for and respond to water challenges that threaten the existence of our rural towns and cities. Though we are separated by geography, we are coming together with one voice and a simple message for our state leaders: Water issues can’t wait any longer.

For too long, water issues have been ignored, put on the shelf, or kicked to the next 30- or 60-day session. As scientists continue to sound the alarm, our state gets hotter and dryer, with more extreme weather events. And each year that passes, we wonder when our voices will be heard in Santa Fe and when water will be made the priority — especially for people closest to the land who rely on water to nourish our crops and feed our families.

We understand water issues can be complex, politically charged, and feel like they are impossible to solve. But we don’t have the luxury of giving up. That’s why each of us are working in some way to address the water challenges we face. All we ask is for our leaders to do the same.

We appreciate the incremental progress that is being made to restore the budgets and staffing levels at our natural resource agencies, and for the dedicated state employees whose job it is to focus on water issues every day. We are grateful for the funding that has come to help acequia stewards, agricultural communities and for watershed restoration and municipal water systems.

Unfortunately, these collective efforts are not enough to meet the crisis we face; when it comes to water issues, we need to think bigger, act bolder and move with greater speed.

Everything that we do — economically, culturally, spiritually — has a basis in our water resources. Our communities need help now. Our rivers are running dry. Our groundwater is disappearing. Our water quality is being threatened. Our water policies are outdated, and our infrastructure is chronically underfunded. And now, wildfires, floods and extreme drought are threatening to change the Land of Enchantment as we know it.

We envision this as an emergency moment, and we need our state leaders to as well. We stand ready to roll up our sleeves and see this work carried out on the ground — to help not only our communities but others. There is a way to address each and every one of our water challenges, but we are going to have to challenge ourselves with some radical changes.

Water affects every legislative district — and every New Mexican, but it is not getting the attention it deserves. That must change, starting now. Water can’t wait.

Ladona Clayton is executive director of the Ogallala Land and Water Conservancy, Clovis. Other contributors to this piece include Miguel Santistevan, acequia farmer from Taos County; Mike Davidson, founder of the Facebook Group Portales Water, Portales; Carol Ann Fugagli, executive director of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance and Mike Fugagli, Silver City; Theresa Pasqual from Acoma Pueblo; Angel Pena, executive director, Nuestra Tierra Land Conservation Project, Las Cruces; Allyson Siwik, Executive Director of the Gila Resources Information Project, Silver City; and Ricky and Sheryl Lockmiller, agricultural producers, Melrose.

Published in the Santa Fe New Mexican, August 10, 2024