Overview

Share your opinions about water projects for the Gila River Basin!

The upcoming town hall on the Gila River Basin will help communities understand and offer feedback on options associated with the Arizona Water Settlement Act of 2004. The AWSA potentially allows New Mexico to access more water from the Gila system than it currently takes. The act also makes available significant federal dollars to fund projects that meet water supply demands in Grant, Luna, Hidalgo, and Catron counties. 

There are 21 potential water projects under consideration. The town hall will collect public input, gathering people’s likes, dislikes, and questions about each proposal. The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission will make the final decision. The ISC decision will also be informed by a ranked evaluation of the proposals. The ranking will be done by a group of experts (the “Tier 2 Review Panel”), and those rankings will be released about two weeks before the town hall.

Community members are urged to sign up for the town hall right away. The event is free, but participants must sign up in advance through our online application process. (This process makes sure the town hall fairly represents all the different stakeholders and counties.)

Silver City
February 16-17, 2012
Grant County Business and Convention Center
3031 Hwy 180 East
Silver City,  NM 88061
505-241-4813 New Mexico First phone number


Agenda

Day 1 - February 16th 

 8:30 am        Check-in and networking                                       
 9:00 am




 Opening Session
  • Welcome, Tom Bates, Vice Chair of the Gila San Francisco Water Commission
  • Video Welcomes, U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall
  • Overview of AWSA, Craig Roepke, Special Projects Bureau Chief, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission
  • Town Hall Ground Rules, Heather Balas, President and Executive Director, New Mexico First
 10:00 am Break (travel to small group discussion rooms)
 10:15 am 








 Small Group Discussion: Ditch and Diversion Improvement Projects
  • Introductions and Ground Rules
  • Topic Overview
  • Coalition Diversion—Rosgen
  • Luna Ditch
  • Sunset and New Model Ditches
  • Gila National Forest San Francisco River Diversion/Ditch
  • Pleasanton Eastside Ditch/Conveyance Loss Reduction
 12:00 pm Working Lunch (pick up lunch in Front Hall and return to small group discussion room)
 12:30 pm





 Small Group Discussion: Water Conservation Projects
  • Topic Overview
  • Deming Conservation Fund
  • Gila Conservation Fund
  • Stream Dynamics Water Harvesting
 1:30 pm






 Small Group Discussion: Diversion and Storage Projects
  • Topic Overview
  • Deming Diversion
  • Gila Basin Irrigation Commission
  • Hidalgo County Off-Stream Storage
  • Grant County Diversion and Storage (partly overlapped with Bayard)
 3:00 pm  Break
 3:15 pm





 Small Group Discussion: Municipal Water Infrastructure and System Improvement Projects
  • Topic Overview
  • Bayard Effluent Reuse
  • Deming Water Reuse
  • Grant County Water Commission Regional Supply
 4:30 pm Adjourn

Day 2 - February 17th

 9:00 am    
 Opening Session                                          
 9:30 am







 Small Group Discussion: Watershed Restoration Projects
  • Topic Overview
  • San Francisco Watershed Treatment: Mineral Creek, Dry Creek, and Devils Creek
  • Grant Soil and Water Conservation District Restoration
  • New Mexico Forest Industry Association
  • Watershed Restoration and Monitoring – New Mexico State University 
  • Gila National Forest Watershed Restoration
 11:30 am Adjourn                                        


Reports

Town hall attendees are urged to read the background report below. This report offers specifics about the Arizona Water Settlement Act and summaries of the 20 water proposals under consideration. Stakeholders from the four-county region contributed to and reviewed this document to assure as clear, concise, and unbiased overview as possible. 

AWSA Town Hall Background ReportAWSA Town Hall Background Report    06-Feb-2012 (515 KB)

Tier Two Evaluation Panel RankingsTier Two Evaluation Panel Rankings    14-Feb-2012 (77 KB)



Sponsors

A coalition of city and county governments commissioned the town hall.  

  • Town of Silver City
  • City of Deming 
  • Luna County
  • Grant County
  • Hidalgo County
The town hall background report was commissioned by the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission.