New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently signed a new bill into law that helps small, rural communities team up to improve their local water supplies.

Senate Bill 1 was signed into law earlier last week. Sponsored by a trio of Democratic legislators, the bill allows small water associations to partner and act as a larger water utility and pool resources and investments to secure water.

“In many ways, they really don’t have a choice,” bill co-sponsor Sen. Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) said during a debate on the legislation in January, quoted by KRQE. “Drilling wells – we’re reaching the point where that’s not an option.”

While larger cities have their water pumped by a massive water utility that has the staff, resources and money to ensure reliable, clean water is available whenever needed, small communities rely on Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Associations that date back to the late 1940s; a KRQE report said. Yet many rural communities still do not have the resources or access to water that is needed.

“Many of these small Mutual Domestics have 25, even fewer, members,” Wirth said in a Senate Conservation Committee hearing, quoted by KRQE. “They’ve got to go try and scramble for money.”

The New Mexico Rural Water Association (NMRWA) reports that more than 150 small water associations currently serve communities around the state, KRQE said. The new law allows those communities to join together and create Regional Water Utility Authorities to oversee the acquisition and use of water.

Just how many communities might come to rely on such regional utilities is not clear yet, but at least now they have the opportunity to join forces and pool there financial resources.

NMRWA is a nonprofit with over 480 water and wastewater system members, representing more than 1,297,000 New Mexica residents; the organization’s website said. It works to provide high-quality training and technical assistance to its members and represent their legislative and regulatory interests as well.