Font ResizeA flooding task force that formed in January had floated the idea of creating a regional body to start fixing what many agree are widespread flooding risks throughout Doña Ana County and southern Sierra County.
The move would have required a law change to allow for the creation of a flood control authority akin to one in Albuquerque, and some task force members were pushing for a bill to be introduced in the legislative session that starts in January.
An initial draft of a bill would have allowed the authority to put bond questions before voters, to repay loans for new flood control infrastructure. But the ability to tax didn't sit well with a number of the major players.
Doña Ana County and Sierra County staff, the flood commissions from both counties and the city of Las Cruces declined to throw their support behind any proposed legislation in the coming year.
Robert Garza, assistant city manager for Las Cruces, said the city backs the idea of a regional flood control authority because water "knows no boundaries" and flows from one jurisdiction into the next. However, he said he was concerned about the city joining a regional entity with responsibility for flood control in lots of other problematic areas of the county, especially if city tax
"Chances are, they wouldn't be done in the city of Las Cruces," he said.
Joe Delk, chairman of the task force and head of the local Soil and Water Conservation District, said the group spent much of the year trying to get local bodies to sign-off on a non-binding agreement needed before any legislation could be proposed. That finished up Oct. 1, he said, leaving the group a small window to propose a bill in time for it to be vetted by a key panel of state lawmakers before the end of the year.
Because of that, Delk said, some task force members put forward a draft bill. He said it was supposed to be a starting point and not necessarily the final proposal, but local bodies didn't perceive it that way.
"It was never meant to be 'the' legislation," he said.
Delk said he realizes a referendum to increase taxes for flood control projects would be unlikely to pass in today's poor economy. At the same time, however, improvements will require a funding source.
"I'm not sure how we do this; we just know there is a need," he said. "Just go up and down the valley and talk to anybody and you'll find that everybody has a flood story to tell."
Valerie Beversdorf, GIS director for Elephant Butte Irrigation District, part of the task force, agreed that there's a big need for flood control projects throughout the county, something that will cost money. But she said that funding might not necessarily need to come from an entity with taxing authority. She said she believes the task force can make some strides by working together.
"We do feel optimistic we're going to be able to accomplish things; we're just not quite so sure how it's going to happen," she said. Delk said that will be the point of a Jan. 6 task force meeting.
"I've asked them to bring some constructive ideas to the table," he said.
The task force started off with the name Stormwater and Watershed Infrastructure Management task force, or SWIM, but later changed its name to the South Central New Mexico Stormwater Management Coalition.
Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443
If you go
What: South Central New Mexico Stormwater Management Coalition
When: 9 a.m. Jan. 6
Where: Elephant Butte Irrigation District headquarters, 530 S. Melendres St., Las Cruces
