Silver City, Oct 4, 2004 - Members of the state House of Representatives Water and Natural Resources Committee were in the town of Gila on Sunday to take a look at the river.
The lawmakers are studying how to take advantage of an agreement reached recently by New Mexico and Arizona officials regarding the use of water from the Gila and San Francisco rivers.
The agreement calls for between $66 million and $128 million in federal funds to be spent on "water improvement projects," which could include an offstream reservoir to capture water from the rivers.
Legislation passed by Congress nearly 40 years ago entitled New Mexico to 18,000 acre-feet of water (recently renegotiated to 14,000 acre-feet) from the basin per year for any 10-year period. However, no project has been initiated to take advantage of the allocation.
An offstream dam — which an Interstate Stream Commission official suggested could be in Mangas Valley — is not the only way the federal money could be used.
"Funds are not restricted to the development of any project that would take water from the Gila River, but can be used to support any water improvement project such as water conservation, watershed enhancement or other ecologically beneficial projects," Commission Director Estevan Lopez said recently.
M.H. "Dutch" Salmon, chairman of the Gila Conservation Coalition, said the federal funding could be used "for some very useful things (like) water restoration, water and sewer infrastructure for underserved communities, and the purchase of idle or fallow water rights to meet our future water demand."
Such alternatives to damming the river are favored by many in the area, including some Gila Valley residents who greeted the legislative committee with a banner proclaiming, "Keep Our River in the Valley."
Salmon said he "voiced (the coalition's) concerns about the ecological and recreational values of the river, and what a project could do to that."
He also discussed with committee member Mimi Stewart, a Democratic representative from Albuquerque, "alternatives to the federal diversion (of river water into a reservoir), and how to make use of existing water rights instead of acquiring new water rights."
In a news release issued last week, the coalition stated: "The Gila is the last mainstem river in New Mexico without a major water development and provides important riparian habitat that supports a rich diversity of plants and animals, several of which are threatened or endangered species."
Those favoring an offstream dam have said it is needed to ensure sufficient water for future growth and development in the area.
Salmon said the legislators are involved in the issue because the Interstate Stream Commission is likely to ask committee members to approve state funding of preliminary studies regarding a possible diversion project.
The agreement between the two states — an amendment to H.R. 885, the Arizona Water Settlements Act — is being considered by Congress.

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