WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) led a delegation of Western senators, including U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), in calling on U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to develop a robust and comprehensive funding plan to support drought mitigation and climate adaptation efforts in the Rio Grande Basin. 

“In the face of widespread and historic drought, a long-term mitigation strategy is needed to safeguard the water resources of Reclamation states,” the lawmakers wrote. “Robust and coordinated investment in the Rio Grande Basin is an essential part of such a strategy and will provide meaningful benefits to the environment, to water resources, and to communities across Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.”

The Rio Grande and its tributaries are vital, providing drinking water for an estimated 12-13 million people in the United States and Mexico. The basin is also critical to agriculture and food production, providing irrigation water for an estimated 1.8 million acres of crop and pasture land. Additionally, the Rio Grande supports a growing outdoor recreation economy and a diverse habitat range for fish and wildlife. Amidst aridification and ongoing drought, communities throughout the Rio Grande Basin are grappling with decreasing quantities and predictability of water supplies. 

The lawmakers continued, “While federal funds through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act are flowing, these investments don’t reflect the true scale, need, and urgency to enhance water security throughout the Rio Grande Basin.With these challenges and opportunities in mind, we respectfully request further dialogue between DOI, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other critical federal partners to develop a strategic plan to increase the pace and scale of locally-led water security efforts in the Rio Grande Basin.”

Read the full letter here.