secretary of the interior visits enmrws
secretary of the interior visits eastern New Mexico rural water system
By Autumn Scott
On October 30, 2023, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton visited Clovis, New Mexico, to announce $7 million in additional funding for the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System, one of a handful of rural water projects supported by President Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Haaland highlighted the importance of bringing clean water to rural communities, tying it back to her roots when she spent time with her grandparents in Mesita Village, New Mexico, where her family and the rest of the villagers did not have running water.
"We used to have to haul our water from the middle of the village. There was one spigot for the whole village and that was the grandkids job to haul water for my grandmother so she would have water for cleaning and cooking," she said.
That was over 50 years ago, said Haaland, but still today, far too many Americans don't have access to the clean and reliable water they need, including right here in the southwest, she said.
The infrastructure bill allocates $1 billion to complete federally authorized rural water projects under the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority (ENMWUA), the governing body overseeing the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System or the Ute Pipeline Project, is among the recipients of that funding, allowing the ENMWUA to complete the pipeline by 2029, about 15 years ahead of schedule.
The completion of the pipeline couldn't come at a more crucial time for eastern New Mexico as the communities in eastern New Mexico struggle to conserve and hold on to valuable water due to the exponential depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer, some impacted more than others, with the City of Portales being in a stage 3 water restriction that does not allow residents to water their lawn, wash their cars, or fill pools.
Haaland says the Biden-Harris administration is using every resource they have to reduce the impact of drought on rural communities and develop a long-term plan to facilitate conservation and economic growth.
"Because no community should be left behind. It will take all of us working together to address the significant drought impacts that we see across the West," Secretary Haaland said.
Clovis Mayor Mike Morris said having the Secretary of the Interior visit the project in eastern New Mexico demonstrates how much it means to the federal government that the Ute Pipeline Project is completed.
"We had the Secretary of the Interior visit our community this morning, shake hands, and visit with the partners here that are going to benefit from this project," Morris said.
"They stood out here in the dirt with us and talked about how important this project is," Morris said.
Morris said it is comforting to know that project and community leaders have a strong partnership with the federal government, allowing them to see this project to completion.
Secretary Haaland said that it is more than just rural communities in New Mexico that she and the Biden-Harris administration care about.
"I'm honored and proud to serve under President Biden because he cares about all rural communities. So, this funding didn't just help New Mexico, it helped many other states with their rural water issues, and a lot of states will be able to get their projects completed because of the federal investments.”