Deb Haaland Pledges Permanent Funding for New Mexico's Acequias

Candidate for New Mexico Governor, Deb Haaland, recently met with influential community leaders from the South Valley Regional Acequia, alongside State Senator Linda Lopez and Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero, to formally announce her staunch support for securing annual and permanent funding dedicated to the state’s land grants and acequias. The Sunday gathering critically focused on the importance of sustaining and protecting New Mexico’s traditional land and water management systems.

Preserving Heritage and Essential Infrastructure

Acequias, which are centuries-old communal irrigation networks, play a vital, dual role in safeguarding the natural environment and water resources in northern New Mexico while simultaneously ensuring that southern communities retain access to critical water flows. Haaland articulated her vision for these systems, stating that "Acequias are living history—neighbors caring for land and water together." She emphasized that protecting these systems would not only serve northern communities but would also strengthen local governance and fundamentally preserve New Mexico’s unique heritage, labeling the networks as "essential infrastructure for a changing environment." She urged a concentrated effort to "invest in what makes our state strong."

Since officially launching her campaign for governor, Haaland has consistently visited land grant communities and acequia associations across the state, engaging in dialogue about traditional stewardship practices and local community needs. Earlier in the year, her travels included a visit to Morphy Lake in Mora County, where she personally observed the damaging impacts of wildfire on the crucial watershed.

A Comprehensive Water Management Strategy

Beyond the immediate support for traditional systems, Haaland has publicly outlined a broader, comprehensive strategy intended to significantly strengthen New Mexico’s statewide water infrastructure. Her proposals include initiatives to modernize groundwater management in overdrawn basins, expand stormwater capture systems statewide, and provide competitive grants specifically aimed at assisting farmers in adopting modern irrigation technologies. These initiatives were a central topic of discussion during her address at the Next Generation Water Summit held earlier this summer.

Haaland's commitment to these issues is rooted in her previous executive experience as U.S. Secretary of the Interior, where she consistently championed policies designed to support rural and traditional communities. Under her leadership, acequias achieved formal recognition as traditional community water organizations, granting them eligibility for crucial federal water management engagement. Furthermore, the Bureau of Land Management, under her direction, officially backed the Land Grant-Mercedes Traditional Use Recognition and Consultation Act, legislation that Haaland had previously co-sponsored during her time in Congress, which aimed to improve coordination between federal agencies and New Mexico’s land grant communities. During her tenure, she oversaw the direction of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal investments toward rural water infrastructure projects and specifically directed funding to the New Mexico Acequia Association to bolster statewide water resilience.