From drinking water and cultural ceremonies to acequia farming and outdoor recreation, clean water supports all aspects of life in New Mexico. Water is a precious resource everywhere, but its importance is magnified in New Mexico’s arid climate.
Protect New Mexico Waters
New Mexico is full of
Iconic
Water
But under a 2023 Supreme Court ruling, New Mexico’s rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands are at risk like never before.
Watch the video and sign the petition to protect New Mexico’s waters!
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The 2020 Dirty Water Rule, combined with other federal rollbacks, strips Clean Water Act protections from more than 90% of New Mexico’s waterways.
= Unprotected Waters
= Protected Waters
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New Mexico’s robust outdoor recreation and agriculture economies rely on clean water and watersheds.
The Threat
The 2023 Supreme Court ruling removes federal Clean Water Act protections for most of New Mexico’s waterways overall and almost ALL of our waterways that do not flow year-round.
The ruling negatively impacts New Mexico more than any state in the nation. The ruling removes federal Clean Water Act protections for the vast majority of waterways in New Mexico because:
- The ruling eliminates protections for all waters except those that are considered “relatively permanent.” For New Mexico, where 96% of our waters don’t flow year-round, this is devastating.
- The ruling eliminates protections for wetlands that do not have a “continuous surface water connection” to “relatively permanent” waters.
New Mexico is one of only three states that does not have a state program in place to control the dumping of contaminants into state waters. Urge the NM Legislature to establish and fund a state surface water pollution control program to protect New Mexico’s rivers, streams, and wetlands.
Spotlight on Threatened Waterways of New Mexico
The Gila River: A Dirty Water Rule Case Study
The Dirty Water Rule directly threatens some of New Mexico’s larger iconic rivers that cross into a neighboring state, such as the Gila River in the south and the north’s Rio Costilla. This video takes a closer look at what unprotected water in the Gila River means for drinking water, irrigators, and the growing recreation-based economy of southwestern New Mexico.
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Impacts
WATCH HERE
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Indigenous and Land-Based Communities
Tribes, pueblos, and traditional land-based communities rely on freshwater for ceremonial purposes and to feed their families. The waterways that deliver this water lost protections under the 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
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New Mexico’s Farming and Acequia Culture
Stream and acequia networks that support multi-generational farms make up the vast majority of waterways in New Mexico. These waterways are threatened by unregulated dumping, which would irreparably harm traditional land-based communities through the state.
Impacts to New Mexicans’ Drinking Water
The Dirty Water Rule threatens the drinking water of at least 900,000 people in New Mexico.
WATCH HERE
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WATCH HERE
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New Mexico's outdoor recreation economy depends on clean water.
From New Mexico’s iconic Rio Grande to smaller waterways like arroyos, all of the state’s waters sustain critical economic activity.
The Solution
The State must step in to fill the regulatory gap left by the Supreme Court ruling
This ruling impacts New Mexico more than any other state in the nation. We need the state to create a state surface water permitting program to fill the gap left by this ruling and protect New Mexico’s waterways from unregulated dumping.
WATCH HERE
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Take Action!
Join us to call on the legislature to provide funding for a state program to protect our waters from unregulated pollution.
Polluted Future: New Mexico Clean Water Under Threat
Created in partnership by Amigos Bravos and CAVU
Credits
Videos
Producer: CAVU
Co-Directors: Liliana Castillo and Staci Stevens
Cinematography: Vladimir Chaloupka
Additional photography: David Aubrey, Nate Stone, Peter Bill, Tyler Bingham, & Allison Siwik
Editor: Madison McClintock
Story Map
Web Design: Maria Chavez
Photography: Vladimir Chaloupka
Graphic.Design: Brandon Basino
Content Development: Liliana Castillo, Rachel Conn, Staci Stevens