Bill would fully fund local water project

WASHINGTON — The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Project will be fully funded if an infrastructure bill is passed through Congress, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., announced last week.

In a phone message to Gayla Brumfield, former mayor of Clovis who has been active in eastern New Mexico water supply issues, Heinrich said a provision in the Senate’s version of a bipartisan infrastructure package authorizes “about $1 billion for rural water projects,” including enough to pay the eastern New Mexico water project “in full.”

A news release from Heinrich’s office said $5 billion would be approved over the next five years for Western water programs, including the full federal share of eastern New Mexico’s project.

The funding, however, is contingent on whether the federal infrastructure bill gets through both the House and Senate, Heinrich said.

The eastern New Mexico project, led by the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, is constructing a water pipeline from the Ute Reservoir to Clovis, Portales, Cannon Air Force Base, and additional locations.

“I have worked for more than a decade to increase federal funding for the Ute Pipeline Project,” Heinrich said in the news release.