The current regional water planning process is overseen by the NM Interstate Stream Commission. During the last round of regional planning, completed in 2016-2017, the state provided a framework for regional water plan development, including summarizing legal issues and technical analysis of water availability and needs and projected imbalances between availability and need.

Each region formed a steering committee. Current guidance is for members of the steering committee to fulfill one or more of the following criteria:

• Be or represent a water right owner
• Be directly affected by the outcome of water management decisions
• Have or represent the authority to make decisions and implement outcomes for a particular water user group
• Represent one or more key water use groups (e.g., agricultural user, tribal entity, rural water provider, etc.)

Key responsibilities of the regional steering committee include:

• Engaging with the state to review and refine the region-specific supply, demand, and legal constraints report
• Providing opportunities for input from local people
• Developing a decision-making process
• Providing discrete recommendations and an implementation plan
• Documenting the planning process results in an updated regional plan that is submitted for acceptance by NMISC

After the completion of the 2016-2017 regional water plans, NM Interstate Stream Commission’s support of each region’s steering committee ended.

The future regional water planning process will continue to be overseen by the NM Interstate Stream Commission. The state could provide technical contributions to regional water plan development and/or staffing support for each region.

However, success of the regional water planning process will depend on buy-in and the ability to implement plans at the local level. Regional water planning will be led by a stakeholder body (entity), and we want your input on the composition and expectations of these entities. The table below presents three alternatives to help consider how these entities could be structured.

Participation is critical to the planning process and ensures that water planning reflects community needs and priorities.

As described in the previous section, the water planning process will be led by a regional water planning entity formed of a group of individuals empowered to make recommendations. Beyond the formal entity, broad and robust participation is necessary in the development of regional water plans to make sure local water-related needs are considered in the planning process, enhance plan acceptance and likelihood of being implemented.

Different individuals will vary in their level and type of involvement in the water planning process:

Regional water planning aims to support sustainable management of water resources for New Mexico’s communities. Typically, water plans evaluate current and forecasted future water conditions by considering how factors like changing climate, population, and regional priorities affect the balance between water availability and need.

With this information plans explore how future water availability and water needs can be balanced via programs, policies, and projects. Through the planning process, the resources and responsibilities to achieve these strategies are identified.