SANTA FE — The House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Saturday will consider a modified bill to establish a Strategic Water Supply in New Mexico that sets up new funding pathways for brackish water projects across New Mexico along with important guardrails and program funding.

The Strategic Water Supply program created in HB 137 is a key component of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s 50-Year Water Action Plan, designed to protect the state’s limited freshwater resources. By treating and incentivizing the use of salty underground water, the SWS supports manufacturing and clean energy needs while preserving community drinking water supplies.

The modified bill set for debate in the House energy committee on Saturday is a response to concerns voiced by lawmakers and stakeholders about the earlier bill’s inclusion of projects that involve reuse of treated produced water, or wastewater from oil and gas production. Having listened to the concerns, Rep. Susan Herrera and Sen. George Muñoz—the bill’s sponsors—are proposing to remove produced water projects from the program, which would have given the State authority to broker partnerships between communities and private industry for produced water treatment and use.

“The Strategic Water Supply is too important to let its produced water provisions be the reason it doesn’t pass,” said Rep. Herrera. “I look forward to engaging with stakeholders so we can revisit produced water legislation in next year’s session.”

Despite the change to the bill, Gov. Lujan Grisham remains committed to advancing research for produced water treatment, a critical tool for ensuring New Mexico’s long-term water security. Safe and effective treatment technologies already exist, as the State of the Science Symposium in June 2024 demonstrated.

Research institutions, including New Mexico State University and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, will continue exploring produced water treatment solutions. Meanwhile, the Water Quality Control Commission is finalizing water reuse regulations that will guide how these advancements can be applied statewide.

The latest revisions to HB 137 also expand the universe of brackish water supplies that are eligible for Strategic Water Supply program funding with clear protections for water resources and water rights owners alike.

To learn more about the Strategic Water Supply’s purpose and goals, watch our new video released today.

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