The Santa Fe New Mexican published an article about a recent New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee (“LFC”) report on state-funded water projects which found that more than a third of New Mexico’s public water systems do not have sufficient revenue, despite legislative grants, loans and user fees, to cover day-to-day operating expenses, let alone for long-term maintenance, improvements or proactive infrastructure projects.
In 2018, the New Mexico State Engineer’s Office estimated there were $2.7 billion in water infrastructure needs around the state; however, this year (2024), public water systems requested nearly $5.7 billion in capital outlay from the New Mexico legislature.
The article specifically identifies revenue shortfalls and related infrastructure needs in three of New Mexico’s water utilities, Truth or Consequences, Sunland Park (Camino Real Regional Utility Authority) and Santa Fe, which requested a combined total of $123 million in capital outlay from the New Mexico legislature this year. The LFC’s report attributed the shortfalls to insufficient water rates.
The Santa Fe New Mexican article may be read in full HERE.
According to the New Mexico Environment Department, and despite the overwhelming number of users/customers relative to small communities in New Mexico, the Santa Fe public water system rated as the 24th most expensive water utility:
The LFC’s August 22, 2024 report, titled “Policy Spotlight: State Funded Water
Projects,” may be read or downloaded HERE.
The LFC report states, in part, that:
“Local water systems, ideally, should operate as self-sustaining enterprises, where rate revenue is sufficient to cover today’s operating expenses and future repair and replacement needs. However, many New Mexico water and wastewater systems are not financially sustainable because New Mexico’s capital outlay system allows the systems to set artificially low rates and defer necessary repairs and replacements, which later get subsidized through requests for state funding provided to communities in an unsystematic and uneven manner.”
The LFC report also provides a case study regarding the City of Truth or Consequences, stating that the community is currently losing roughly 25% (39 million gallons) of its water due to aging infrastructure, specifically, leaking pipes:
“Truth or Consequences loses 25 percent of its water because of an aging leaky water pipe system, and the city will receive $25.4 million in state funds to replace 18 percent of its waterlines. As part of proper operations, local water systems should proactively repair and replace infrastructure assets over time rather than wait for critical breakdowns to be fixed with state funding. However, that has not always happened, as illustrated most recently by the [C]ity of Truth or Consequences. Truth or Consequences has an aging waterline system, dating back to the 1960s, well beyond its expected useful life. Over a nine-month timeframe, the city’s waterline system had 376 water pipe leaks or breaks. By comparing metered water to treated water, the city calculated it loses roughly 25 percent (or 39 million gallons) of its water to pipe leaks.”
My brothers and sisters, the need to provide clean water and to treat wastewater for the residents of New Mexico (and every other state) is not simple or inexpensive, but there is nothing more important to human life than access to clean water. We can live for weeks without food, but in only a few days, we succumb without water!
Given the nature of current society and the millions of persons needing to be served, civil government is appropriately tasked with regulating public water production, reclamation and treatment, but as is often the case, environmental regulation quickly becomes a maze of hard-to-understand or costly-to-implement rules.
It appears, given the foregoing, that even if we assume the best of intentions, delaying, minimizing or ignoring the need to sufficiently fund water utility infrastructure is pleasing to the masses initially, but over time, not doing the right thing will catch up with us – requiring even more expenditures than would have otherwise been necessary.
By way of example, this could be compared to never seeing a dentist to save money, but after years of neglect, we may require in-depth and highly expensive dental work – if not tooth removal and dentures or implants!
Let’s pray for the wisdom of our governmental leaders, that they would walk with integrity and seek the wisdom of God, avoiding unnecessary expenditures or overly zealous and intrusive governmental intervention as they work to assure that all New Mexicans have sufficient and clean water, both now and for future generations.
Let’s also pray that we ourselves, as the citizens and residents of New Mexico, would seek godly wisdom, and be willing to conserve and participate with our civil governments as they work to assure that we have clean water – not only for ourselves, but for future generations. It’s the right thing to do!
The bible reminds us that God desires to give us wisdom:
James 1:5 (NKJV)
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
The bible also tells that we are to comply with civil government (so long as it is not attempting to require something from us that is unbiblical and immoral):
Romans 13:1-4 (NKJV)
Submit to Government
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.”
Water! Precious resource that God created for us. Father I pray that in New Mexico the government entities would have enough knowledge and wisdom to know how to protect this precious resource. New Mexico has the money to push and legalize marijuana surely they have the money push update our water infrastructure please protect our water systems in Jesus name I pray (water is life!)