By: Patrick McCarthy, Senior Water Policy Officer
[email protected]
A principal goal of the Thornburg Foundation’s Water Initiative is to achieve a critical set of policy reforms that transform New Mexico’s water governance in ways that position us to respond effectively to 21st century challenges: aridification, unprecedented drought, and extreme events including severe wildfire and flooding.
The 2025 legislative session was among the most consequential for state water policy in recent memory, following advances in 2023-24 such as the Regional Water System Resiliency Act, Water Security Planning Act, and Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund. The legislature passed major policy changes that will improve water quality and environmental flows and appropriations that will improve drinking water systems and boost regional water planning, tribal water rights settlements, groundwater science, and aquifer storage and recovery (nature-based solutions), among other priorities.
The legislature also made significant – and sometimes unprecedented – investments in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, water rights settlements, water supply augmentation, and water quality protection. It made lesser investments – well under agency requests, but still meaningful – in regional planning, data and information, agency capacity, watershed protection, and agricultural water conservation. Standout appropriations include:
- $200M for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure
- $20M for watershed restoration and protection
- $15M for Indian water rights settlements, matching $3B in federal funds
- $7.5M for aquifer mapping and monitoring
- $5M for a new Agricultural Water Resilience Pilot Program
- $5M for riparian area restoration and protection
- $2M for Water Data Act implementation
Despite these advances, there is still much to be done. This year’s statutory changes are modest relative to the scope and scale of the water crisis, and we need solutions that meet the moment. At the very time when climate change impacts are becoming more severe and we most need support, the federal role in western water management is changing dramatically. This shift – evident in cuts to the Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Protection Agency, and other essential agencies – challenges the water community to set priorities and to diversify our funding. The next legislative session offers an opportunity to devise a package of strategic investments that will meet the scale of the water crisis, help fill the gap left by federal reductions and sustain critical programs and projects. The Thornburg Foundation is working to help support two statewide working groups that are planning campaigns to advance water policy in 2026 and 2027: the Water Ambassadors (former members of the NM Water Policy & Infrastructure Task Force) and the Groundwater Alliance.
We are also supporting an innovative project led by the Pacific Institute, a global water think tank renowned for combining science-based thought leadership with active outreach to influence water policy at local, national, and international levels. “New Mexico’s Untapped Potential: Alternative Water Supplies” will provide a rigorous assessment of the costs, benefits, and feasibility of water conservation and augmentation options across the state. This project features a New Mexico-based advisory group that will ensure findings are tailored to local conditions and priorities.
Through strategic partnerships, targeted research, and continued advocacy, the Thornburg Foundation remains committed to advancing water policy solutions that will secure New Mexico’s water future for generations to come.