A project aimed at providing a reliable water source to 70,000 New Mexicans and the Cannon Air Force Base received much-needed funding from the federal government.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation revealed that the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System pipeline would receive up to $163 million, according to a press release from the governor's office.
"This project is important to the Department of the Interior, as it will help ensure the water supply for eastern New Mexico communities as we continue to encounter unprecedented drought," Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary for water and science, said in the release. "Through President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we were able to provide this significant boost in funding to move this project towards completion."
The eastern New Mexico water project received the largest portion of $420 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law headed to rural water projects in six states, the release said.
An additional $20 million from the state's capital outlay funding will be put towards the project to fulfill the cost-sharing requirements, the release noted.
The pipeline will provide clean water to Clovis, Elida, Prattles, Texico, the Cannon Air Force Base, and unincorporated areas in both Roosevelt and Curry counties. This land currently relies on the Ogallala Aquifer, which experts believe will dry up in less than 15 years, according to the release.
