Committee established to study Water and Natural Resources has completed its assignment and transmits its report of findings and recommendations, including a proposed draft of a bill that is designed to consolidate our water programs and have them administered by an agency to be established and designated as the Arizona Water Commission.

This Working Group was funded by the State Legislature in 2014 to: (1) assess the current status of water supply and demand after years of severe drought in New Mexico; (2) put the current drought into long-term context with reduced surface water, groundwater depletions, and economic activity; and (3) develop a list of vulnerabilities and promote policy strategies to mitigate these vulnerabilities. Funding for the Working Group uniquely and directly involves researchers from all three research universities in New Mexico, and includes both water and social scientists. We report here on findings generated in Fiscal Year 2014-15, during which we focused on the Lower Rio Grande, which is heavily affected by extremely low water storage in Elephant Butte Reservoir. We have compared the current drought situation with the historical drought of the 1950s, examining hydroclimatic changes that have occurred over the past half-century, which impact surface water and groundwater supplies, and the economic and social impacts of the 1950s and current droughts. We do not address the ongoing Supreme Court litigation regarding the Rio Grande Compact and Rio Grande Project area. While it certainly is a threat to the economy and water resource management, it is very early in the process, and it is a legal rather than a scientific issue.