SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) – After years of discussion and a flurry of recent engineering and economic studies by consultants, the staff of the Interstate Stream Commission is scheduled to deliver its recommendation on whether a diversion and storage system should be built along the Gila River.
Dozens of people packed Friday’s meeting in Silver City as the commission heard details about 14 proposals that ranged from a regional water supply system to forest thinning and the reuse of wastewater.
Under a settlement reached a decade ago, New Mexico now faces a Dec. 31 deadline for deciding how it will manage its portion of the Gila. At stake are tens of millions of dollars in federal funding and a new source of water that some see as a rare opportunity to bring relief to the southwestern corner of this drought-stricken state.
Municipal leaders and farmers from southwestern New Mexico voiced support for diverting a portion of the river, which spans parts of New Mexico and southeastern Arizona.
Critics, including environmentalists and former commission director Norman Gaume, complained that the cost of building reservoirs and pipelines has been estimated at more than $740 million, more than five times the federal subsidies that would be available for the project.
They say residents in southwestern New Mexico could see their water rates skyrocket to pay for the infrastructure. “It’s dangerous and we can’t afford it,” JoAnne Allen told the commissioners during a two-hour public comment session.
Gaume and others have accused the commission of withholding data and failing to conduct studies that would determine how much water could actually be squeezed out of the proposed diversion and conservation projects. Gaume is also suing the commission over alleged violations of the state Open Meetings Act.
The commission has called the accusations baseless, saying they are part of an effort to cast unwarranted doubt on the transparency of the Gila planning process.

http://krqe.com/2014/11/14/nm-water-...ecommendation/


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