As repeated droughts threaten a reliable water reserve for the future, the state agreed to commit $30 million to provide water to southeastern New Mexico communities.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) revealed the Eastern New Mexico Water Supply Project during a recent stop in Clovis, according to KOB 4. The project involves building a pipeline that will supply water from the Ute Reservoir to more than 70,000 residents in Clovis, Elida, Portales, and Texico. The money will come from the governor's capital outlay fund and will be supplemented by additional federal and state funding. 

These funds are the first so far and are necessary to build a pipeline that the governor hopes will be working by 2029, if not sooner.

"This is a community that quite literally, in zero to five years, could run out of water – every industry, every consumer, and Cannon Air Force Base," Lujan Grisham said. "I set aside a bunch of my capital and said, 'Let’s finish it up.' ... We're going to spend well over $200 million on this project. I think they’re going to beat the schedule, which is incredible – 2029 – but I think we can get there earlier."

The pipeline will be a long-term solution to avoid a problem that is compounded because parts of the Ogallala Aquifer are contaminated, KOB 4 reported. Communities currently obtain water from that resource, which could be depleted in 15 years or less.

"We don't conserve water in this state; we have to do a much better job as water users – industry and consumers directly," Lujan Grisham said.