0001| HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 98 | 0002| 43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| PAULINE K. GUBBELS | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| A JOINT MEMORIAL | 0011| REQUESTING THE APPROPRIATE INTERIM COMMITTEE CONSIDERING WATER | 0012| ISSUES TO INCLUDE CONSIDERATION OF BENEFICIAL USE AND WATER | 0013| RIGHTS CONSERVATION. | 0014| | 0015| WHEREAS, New Mexico is a dry state, receiving as little as | 0016| six inches of precipitation a year in some areas, which had | 0017| particularly acute consequences during the drought of 1996, | 0018| resulting in wildfires and crop losses; and | 0019| WHEREAS, the state has nine times the population it had in | 0020| 1900, and in recent years, the state has had several of the | 0021| fastest-growing communities in the country, with the population | 0022| of Santa Fe alone increasing more than thirty percent since | 0023| 1980; and | 0024| WHEREAS, increasing population puts severe stress on the | 0025| state's natural resources, especially water, and the only | 0001| source of new water in New Mexico is derived from conserved | 0002| water or by watershed management to achieve increased yield; | 0003| and | 0004| WHEREAS, water rights conservation is not encouraged under | 0005| New Mexico law, which is based on the sparser population and | 0006| cultural practices in New Mexico under territorial governments | 0007| in the early centuries of settlement; and | 0008| WHEREAS, the rights to use water are based on the concept | 0009| of beneficial use and water rights are subject to forfeiture | 0010| for non-use; and | 0011| WHEREAS, several measures were introduced during the 1997 | 0012| legislative session to address water management, including | 0013| House Bill 928, which would have redefined beneficial use to | 0014| include water rights conservation; and | 0015| WHEREAS, House Joint Memorial 90 requests the continuation | 0016| of an interim committee to review water policy; | 0017| NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE | 0018| STATE OF NEW MEXICO that any interim committee directed by the | 0019| New Mexico legislative council to review water policy include | 0020| in its work plan the review of state water law that deals with | 0021| beneficial use, diversion rights, consumptive rights and | 0022| conservation; and | 0023| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be | 0024| transmitted to the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative | 0025| council. | 0001|  |