Heinrich Discusses Water Management And Supply In Subcommittee Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, participated in a hearing for the Subcommittee on Water and Power. The subcommittee received testimony on the Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study.
The study defines current and future imbalances in water supply and demand in the Colorado River Basin and the adjacent areas of the Basin States that receive Colorado River water for approximately the next 50 years.
In his opening statement, Senator Heinrich pointed to several examples from New Mexico in which communities are struggling with water shortage, and how wildfire affects the much needed water resources. He said, "We are seeing more and more demand on our water resources, and less and less supply. The greatest challenge for those of us in the western United States is how to learn to live and hopefully thrive in the new normal."
In the hearing, Senator Heinrich received testimony on water management decisions, the successes of the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program, and details about why water leasing, transfers, and storage can be cost effective ways to meet water needs.
The witness panel for this hearing included: Commissioner Mike Connor, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of Interior; Tanya Trujillo, Executive Director, Colorado River Board of California, Pasadena, California; Don Ostler, Executive Director, Upper Colorado River Commission, Salt Lake City, Utah; and T. Darryl Vigil, Chairman, Ten Tribes Partnership, Dulce, New Mexico.
