New Mexico has launched a public dashboard to track the state’s progress toward securing its long-term water future, highlighting advances in forest and watershed restoration efforts aimed at protecting the state’s water supply.
The new 50-Year Water Action Plan Implementation Dashboard offers a real-time look at efforts to address projected water shortages fueled by drought and climate change. The plan is built around three priorities: conserving existing freshwater supplies, developing new water sources and protecting water quality.
“This dashboard is a promise to every New Mexican that we will manage this challenge with the best science available now and well into the future,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
State officials say scientists project New Mexico could lose 25% of its water supply within the next 50 years, amounting to a shortage of as much as 750,000 acre-feet — roughly enough water to supply 1.5 million households annually.
Much of the state’s strategy centers on restoring forested watersheds, which provide most of New Mexico’s surface water. The New Mexico Forestry Division has expanded restoration efforts to reduce wildfire damage and preserve water resources.
Post-fire stabilization projects are underway in areas burned by the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon fire and the South Fork and Salt fires under the division’s new post-fire restoration authority. Officials said those projects are among several recent accomplishments tied to the state’s 2020 Forest Action Plan.
The state also recently broke ground on the New Mexico Reforestation Center, a facility intended to reduce the risk of permanent forest loss and strengthen long-term watershed health.
The restoration work supports the governor’s 50-Year Water Action Plan, which calls for accelerated thinning, prescribed burning and reforestation on 140,000 acres of state and private land each year. Officials say the goal is to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, flooding and erosion that can threaten water supplies.
“Our forested watersheds matter to all New Mexicans,” State Forester Laura McCarthy said in a statement. “It’s our responsibility not only to protect them from catastrophic wildfire, but to restore them to healthy functioning to ensure a secure, stable water source for future generations.”
To view the dashboard, visit https://water-dashboard.nm.gov/
