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Real News For Real New Mexicans.
The Chile Wire with Abe Baldonado. Hey, everyone. We're back with the Chile Wire this week, and I am excited to introduce my guests from the Water Access Treatment and Reuse Alliance. We're here to talk about one of our most sacred resources in New Mexico, water. And today with me, I have Matthias Sayer and Jennifer Bradfute from the Water Alliance.
Abe Baldonado:Thank you all for joining us today. How are you?
Jennifer Bradfute:Good. Thank you so much for having us.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. Of course. Well, y'all, we're talking about water today. We know water is a very scarce resource here in New Mexico, but y'all are doing some really interesting stuff around produced water, which I understand is a little bit different than wastewater. And so I just love to open up what is produced water for our viewers.
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. It's, well, I should start with we there's a lot of it in New Mexico, and it's it's a wastewater. That's that's correct. But it's it's a little bit different from so many wastewater that we know. Typically, when we think of wastewater, we think of, you know, maybe municipal effluent or some sort of industrial effluent where it was a fresh water to begin with Mhmm.
Matthias Sayer:And then was maybe treated to some degree recycled and then, you know, maybe reused in in some application.
Abe Baldonado:Is that, like, for something like golf courses or something
Matthias Sayer:like that? So we have a lot of well, not a lot. We have some in New Mexico municipal effluent that's treated to a certain standard and then reused for golf courses, for example. Oil and gas produces the production of oil and gas brings water to the surface. So it's it's a bit different than a municipal or industrial effluent because it's not coming it's not the byproduct of, you know, of some other process.
Matthias Sayer:What it is is it's it's water that is associated with the oil and gas that is, you know, residing thousands of feet below the surface. I think one a colleague of ours really likes to call this ancient ocean water. Oh. And in so many ways, that's what it is. And what happens in New Mexico is when you produce a barrel of oil, you produce somewhere between four and seven barrels of water.
Matthias Sayer:Wow. So it's it's probably better to say we have a large water production industry in Southeast And Northwest New Mexico that happens to bring up some oil with it more than oil that brings up water. Right. Because it's just so water heavy.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. And so I read one of the last statistics I saw was in 2018, 42,000,000,000 gallons of produced water was generated with our oil and gas development in '18. I'm sure that number's gone up significantly with increased oil and gas drilling. But what's happening with that water? So we know that that that water's been developed.
Abe Baldonado:Where has it gone, and what's happening with it now?
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. So in 2019, the legislature passed the produced water act, and that bill incentivized oil and gas companies to recycle produced water and use that water in their own operations. Recycling use of produced water really increased after 2019. So you see a lot of water being used in oil and gas operations, but oil and gas operations actually don't require a ton of water. And so it's only a very small percentage of that overall water production that goes into the oil and gas operations.
Jennifer Bradfute:Then after that, you can dispose of that water, meaning that you're throwing it away, you're going to put it back down hole thousands of feet below the Earth's surface, or it's being transported into Texas. And Texas has actually had several successful pilot projects where they are seriously pursuing the use of treated produced water outside of the oil field.
Abe Baldonado:So we're competing with Texas is what I'm hearing right now.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yes. Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:Don't don't get us started. Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:Well and, Jennifer, you made a good point. So we're sending this water over to Texas. I I'm guessing they're thinking about capitalizing on it and potentially even selling it is what I'm guessing where New Mexico could potentially lead and actually charge Texas to get some of our produced water.
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. Well, if you look at New Mexico, the geography of New Mexico, and if we look at Southeast New Mexico where 98% of the produced water in New Mexico is generated. And I and just bringing some of those numbers forward, in 2024, I think we produced two point over 2,000,000,000 barrels of water. So that's, you know, that's over 300,000 acre feet. It's a lot of water.
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. Mhmm. And so those folks in Lee County, in particular, they're bordered by Texas on two sides. Right? On the East and on the South.
Matthias Sayer:Now this is probably more detailed than anyone cares to know about, but New Mexico and Texas have different groundwater regulatory regimes. Mhmm. And in Texas, the regulatory structure incentivizes pumping. So if you're a landowner in Texas, you pump until there's no water left. If you're a landowner in New Mexico, you pump until the state engineer says you hit your your appropriate limit.
Matthias Sayer:Right? So that's the amount of water you can pump. So on one side of the border, we have New Mexicans who are, you know, following the the rule of prior appropriation, which is, you know, conscientious and saying this is a public resource. We need to be thoughtful about how we use this. On the Texas side, they're saying, you pump because if you don't, your neighbor's gonna take it.
Abe Baldonado:Right.
Matthias Sayer:So that that's happening already. But now we have this produced water to your point and Jennifer's point where we're sending we we produce around 7,000,000 barrels a day. Three to five of that is being sent to Texas right now for management in Texas.
Abe Baldonado:Wow.
Matthias Sayer:There are applications pending to reuse that water, treat and reuse that water, New Mexico water in Texas, put it into Red Bluff Reservoir and the Pecos River. And what will they do with it? They'll use it for beneficial purposes. Right? They're adding it to their water system.
Matthias Sayer:Through Mexico water, we will get zero credit for it despite the fact that that Texas just passed legislation that would move $20,000,000,000 over 20 to leverage this and other nontraditional water resources. Wow.
Abe Baldonado:So New Mexico could potentially be missing out on a key opportunity here that could be a great economic driver for our state. I mean, I think New Mexico oftentimes, we think, oh, New Mexico is a poor state. We're really not. We're we're very rich in the resources that we have and the money that's generated from those resources. This perhaps is another one where New Mexico can see a lot of money going into our coffers.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. What I'm really afraid about is New Mexico really got the short end of the stick with our water compacts. And so we see right now the Rio Grande's been pretty dry this summer for the first time in my life, and I'm a native New Mexican that I can remember. I was just down in the Las Cruces area, you could see tire marks from people who are driving around in the middle of the Rio Grande, and it's bone dry.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah, same here in Albuquerque. I was shocked to see how many people were just driving in the middle of the Rio Grande.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. And so, you know, we missed it on water compacts. We didn't get the best end of that deal. And now we have our non traditional water resources moving into Texas, and if we don't pay attention, we could end up with not a great bargain. Again, we could have a lot of water moving into the Pecos River, getting no credit for our compact requirements from that and getting no money or no water resources in return.
Abe Baldonado:Absolutely. And so this is a good question. So I'm an everyday New Mexican. Why should this matter to me? I think that's the biggest question that I would love everyday New Mexicans to understand.
Abe Baldonado:Okay. Produce water, water compacts, but how does this impact me? What how how can I benefit from this?
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. I've I would say just as a reference point, as a you know, as someone who I'm not a native New Mexican, but we've raised four boys here, and we're hopeful that, you know, when they start building their careers that they wanna come back to New Mexico. The governor's fifty year water action plan highlighted some really important data. One of the leading, I think, points there is over the next fifty years, we will see a 25 reduction in our available water supplies. If I want my kids to come home, they need to be able to, you know, to build a career here.
Matthias Sayer:Mhmm. And it's really hard to do that without water. And I Jennifer's gonna get tired of this joke. But when I was in law school, we would travel from Indiana to to Virginia to see friends, you pass through West Virginia. If you've ever driven into West Virginia, they have, you know, their welcome to West Virginia sign that says, welcome to West Virginia, open for business.
Matthias Sayer:To me, that always seems silly because the as opposed to what closed
Abe Baldonado:Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:Closed for business. Well, I think that's a reality that we're looking at in New Mexico.
Abe Baldonado:If Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:If we don't do something to augment our water supplies, the existing, like, market and economy and and and communities in New Mexico rely on the water that we presently have. And so if we're gonna say we we're gonna have 25% less, not only can we not build, but we're gonna see curtailments and and cities and communities and counties having to make hard choices about how they use the water they have. So what we're talking about is can we grow New Mexico's economy? Can we invite industry into New Mexico to rely on these nontraditional water resources? Because right now, when they come to New Mexico and Jennifer has a is doing work for a, you know, big project in the state that when you step into New Mexico, they say, what water is available?
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. And that's a hard question to answer. But we've got these nontraditional resources that that we can use to leverage opportunity.
Abe Baldonado:Absolutely. And I think about that, you know, this hurts agriculture. Agriculture is one of our big industries in New Mexico alongside oil and gas. I mean, our farmers and ranchers rely on water. You know?
Abe Baldonado:They pray for rain. They, you know, are looking forward to getting great years of solid moisture. And, you know, with a 25% reduction, I can't imagine what would happen to some of these farms and some of these ranches that would just go down under for after hundreds of years, you know, doing farming and ranching. And and I think the a lot of people just think, oh, well, I get my groceries at Walmart, but I'm like, how did they get there, though? How did the how did that fruit how did those vegetables get to to your to your grocery store?
Abe Baldonado:And so that's something I think about. And, Jennifer, I remembered what I was gonna ask you early on about the freshwater. You know, I think there's been a lot of misconceptions that a lot of freshwater is used for oil and gas extraction when that isn't the case. That's correct.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. That's correct. So, oil and gas is included in the mining industry when you look at water stats in New Mexico compiled by the Office of the State Engineer. And the mining industry, which includes mining and oil and gas, uses two percent of the state's total water. So that's a very small percentage of the total water.
Jennifer Bradfute:Also getting back to your question about why would this matter to New Mexicans, We have several aquifers in the state that don't recharge here in New Mexico, which means that other states north of us get to use most of the water then the water
Abe Baldonado:comes down to us.
Jennifer Bradfute:Trickles down, yeah.
Abe Baldonado:Another bad bargain for New Mexicans.
Jennifer Bradfute:That's just geography. But we have cities that are going to run dry, and we know we have cities that are going to run dry. Their groundwater basins don't have enough water in them to supply water for twenty years, for thirty years. And these are not small metropolitan areas. It's the city of Clovis, the city of Portales where we have a university, and then we see smaller cities like the city of Cuba that we already know historically has been running dry and trucking water in.
Matthias Sayer:Wow. A lot of the Pecos River watershed, right, Southeast New Mexico is the groundwater there. They rely on the Obalala Aquifer as well. And it's a receding aquifer.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. And these are historic towns that we're talking about that have long standing history that are facing challenging times. And at some point, you know, hopefully, they don't become ghost towns, and it's great to hear that produced water could potentially change that. And so I've been listening in to some of the hearings that y'all have had recently, and we're gonna get into the weeds here, folks, with rulemaking. And so it might get a little complex here, but y'all have had some hearings, and there's been a lot of conversation about the rule itself, some concerns.
Abe Baldonado:But from what I understand, Matthias, this rule is actually very similar to something California implemented. Is is that correct?
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. And, you know, I should we should put context around this. Mhmm. California relies heavily on water reuse. Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:You know, they have a really robust indirect potable program, and they're one of the leaders in the nation on direct potable reuse. So that's taking municipal effluent and putting it right back into the system. Right? And so there's a lot of concern about that. You mean, anyone who uses water from your home knows that there's a lot of things that go down a tap or a toilet or a tub or a drain, right, that you wouldn't wanna drink that.
Abe Baldonado:Right.
Matthias Sayer:Right? But that's what goes goes into the municipal system, and then you have to rely on the treatment that they, you know, are employing because that effluent is coming right back to your home. Right? So there's a high degree of sensitivity about making sure they get that water quality right. And so when we were starting to build this rule, working with a team of experts, we said, let's look at this program because of the sensitivity required with a direct potable program.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:So we did look at the the California rules that are, you know, some of the most cutting edge, in the in the country, pulled so much of what they've done into what what we've built in our rule. And so you'll see that the rule and that we've been that's been proposed is built on this precautionary principle. Right? That's we know there are some things that we don't know a whole lot about. So how do we how do we manage for and mitigate that uncertainty?
Matthias Sayer:And it's through multi barrier treatment trains, and it's through using targeted and non targeted analysis of that water, real time monitoring of indicators and surrogates so that we we have a high degree of confidence in what's happening. And if at any point we receive feedback from these different systems that says, you you we need to stop and look at this, then that's what the rule says. Like, then we need to stop and look at this.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:But, yes, the the the DPR rules in California have been, you know, heralded as as some of, you know, model rules that we should be looking at for DPR systems. And so that's why we looked at those.
Abe Baldonado:Wonderful. Yeah. And I listened to one of the last hearings where there was a motion to dismiss the rulemaking in its entirety, but they were citing that, you know, there's not a lot of science behind this, but, you know, you've talked about that there have been industry experts that have been studying this and that have been at the forefront and at the front seat of the table driving these conversations and backing it with science. And so just curious. What other partnerships have you all had with, you know, universities or any other valuable institutions that have been valuable to this initiative?
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. Absolutely. So as we wrote the rule, we actually put together a subgroup of scientists, and we met on a weekly basis and got their feedback. So, throughout that process, these scientists are some of the most experienced produced water scientists in the nation, and we got to ask them, Is this mechanism protective? Yes, no.
Jennifer Bradfute:Why not? Okay, if we change this, what other scientific tests are out there? Those scientists are scientists from New Mexico State University. New Mexico State University actually has one of the leading laboratories in produced water research and brackish water treatment research, Colorado School of Mines, which has been very influential in this space as well. And then we had a number of scientists and experts that are working on the leading pilot projects.
Jennifer Bradfute:Some of those pilot projects are the pilot projects Matthias mentioned. They are applying to put treated produced water into the Pecos River that has been successfully treated with input from the Environmental Protection Agency, from the EPA. And so we've also hosted a series of events with regulators from Texas, New Mexico, from the Environment Department, the Railroad Commission, and EPA coming out to visit sites, ask questions, learn about the treatment technologies, and really get to hard scientific issues.
Abe Baldonado:Wow. That's amazing. And it's wonderful to hear that New Mexico State has been a leader in this with their produced water consortium.
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. Again, I'm not a native New Mexican.
Abe Baldonado:Can We're not gonna hold that against you here at jelly wire.
Matthias Sayer:For saying this. I
Jennifer Bradfute:mean, you're
Matthias Sayer:wearing their colors today. But in the context of produced water, New Mexico State University is should be called the New Mexico State University because they they are world leaders in some of the work they've done. And I do wanna just clarify one thing I said to make sure we didn't, you know, lead folks down, you know, a thought process or or thought pattern that's not correct. The rule that we proposed, even though it's modeled after the California DPR rules, we are we are not proposing that this water be used for potable purposes.
Abe Baldonado:Oh, okay.
Matthias Sayer:Right? So the the scope of the rule is limited to non potable applications, commercial, industrial, non consumable ag, construction, closed loop cooling, you know, cooling center or cooling data centers. So it's we appreciate that regardless of what the science says, and the science says this can be done, there there's also a social license that's important. And just like in California in the early eighties when they started implementing these these reuse programs for municipal effluent, it went slow. Right?
Matthias Sayer:They were around 2% reuse in the early eighties and they implemented and they started proposing and implementing these reuse programs. It was it was met with with opposition because, you know, people are worried about their water quality.
Abe Baldonado:Absolutely.
Matthias Sayer:And so it it had to go through, you know, kind of an evolution of understanding with the pop with with the population. But what was 2% in the early eighties, now they're well over 25% of, you know, reuse of their municipal effluent. And it's been, you know, a kind of this this tandem holding hands where the science is holding hands with with the communities and helping educate them and bring them along, you know, deep there's indirect potable, and that was where they started. That requires an environmental buffer, so you're putting into a, you know, into a pond like the golf course or into an aquifer. So it's not going straight to the system.
Matthias Sayer:But because the science has moved along and they've helped educate their public, now, you know, the public is willing to say we're okay with with the direct potable because we see and we understand the science now. So we think as part of what the the water alliance, we think our work is to help people understand where the science is at and what we can do in New Mexico. And while we're working on produced water now, you know, we're not a produced water advocacy organization. Absolutely. As you mentioned, water access treatment and reuse.
Matthias Sayer:We think that we have a a, you know, collection of nontraditional water resources that we could and should be leveraging, you know, to benefit New Mexicans.
Abe Baldonado:Absolutely. And you mentioned something, data centers. I mean, that's something that I'm reading nationally that is gonna be a big movement moving forward, for our country, and New Mexico could potentially be a hub for some of these data centers if produced water, if we lead that, there's a great opportunity that data centers might wanna actually invest here in New Mexico. And I think about jobs that come with that, that it seems like it would be a great economic driver for our state.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. I think so, really, the two barriers that a state like New Mexico has to real data center investment is they relate to power and to water resources. So, can you get enough electrons from the grid? Do you have enough water molecules for your needs? There are some really neat advances in cooling technology.
Jennifer Bradfute:So, you have closed loop cooling systems that can use minimal amounts of water, both in power generation and in data centers. But even then, because we're such an arid state, it's tough.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah.
Jennifer Bradfute:It is really tough to let those water molecules go to an industrial use. So, a water like produced water is perfect to go into data center cooling, especially with some of the new cooling technologies because they are a one time fill up kind of technology, and then it fills a tubing system that runs throughout the data center building and it circulates. And so they're kind of like your swimming pool, checking chemical levels in the water, making sure that it's good, but very rarely does the whole system get flushed. And so that's a perfect application for a water like produced water that's treated successfully, put into a one time fill, and then circulated for industrial cooling.
Abe Baldonado:It's interesting. I'm getting a whole lesson here on about the intricacies of what produced water can do with data centers. I think that's amazing, and I think it's amazing to hear what it could potentially be like here in New Mexico if we're at the forefront of it. So I know you all are at the forefront of this rulemaking right now. I know that, you know, there's been arguments that the science is incomplete, but it seems like you all are actually bringing the data and the science to prove that you know, to ultimately reduce some of this uncertainty.
Abe Baldonado:So just curious, what what does that data look like? You know, what what have you shown the water quality control commission and then just some of the, opposition that is maybe reluctant about this, new developments in produced water?
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. And I think, you know, the the reluctance is is not misplaced. Right? Water is critical, and in this the area we live and are going to be living in is one where reuse is more and more a part of the conversation. So we need to be really thoughtful about the quality of the water.
Matthias Sayer:Mhmm. And so I have I have no qualms with people asking questions about the data and the science because that's how we started.
Abe Baldonado:Well, and they probably should. Right? It should always be questions so that way that dialogue is there to, you know, maybe close any misconceptions or maybe just educate on new data, new science that's coming out. I think every day something changes, so it's always good. And I'm sure you all are constantly learning new things in this process as well.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. Think everybody cares about water quality. Like, quality is nonnegotiable. Absolutely. And so that's that's the foundation you want to start from.
Jennifer Bradfute:And so does the science support the water quality?
Matthias Sayer:Well, we have had the benefit of working with this, well, you know, a decade ago was just a waste.
Abe Baldonado:Yes.
Matthias Sayer:But we, you know, started looking at this. Jennifer and I were in different roles, but both looking at this issue, saying, well, could it be a resource? Well, what gaps would we need to identify and fill for it to become a resource? So we've both done work in that space over the last, you know, better part of the last decade trying to see if it was something that was possible. We're not scientists, so we looked at policy and regulations.
Matthias Sayer:Say, what would policy and regulation need to look like, and then what would we need from the science community to support policy and regulation? And so the New Mexico produced water research consortium has spent, you know, since 2019, a lot of time looking at this water. And the New Mexico environment department who was one of the, you know, the champions of the consortium, the reason they said we need this consortium is because they said we need data.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:And so what did the environment department do? They they they sort of they helped stand up the consortium, and then they started on rules. And they said, well, while we're getting the science, we're gonna put together rules. And the first rule is gonna be one that establishes the baseline. What is the baseline?
Matthias Sayer:The baseline is you can't do anything with this water until you have a permit. And so their initial rulemaking was a prohibitory rulemaking that said, this is the baseline. And they simultaneously said, we're gonna come back later with phase two, which is essentially would be, you know, a standard setting rule. What does what does your water need to look like to be able to reuse it, and what are the things you can reuse it for? And so in that first rulemaking, you know, it started in 2023 and then and ended eighteen months later.
Matthias Sayer:It took a lot longer than think everyone anticipated. And because of the way that initial rule was was really targeted, which was to prohibit things, the environment department's case wasn't one where they were, you know, bringing all of the science to say, this is why we could reuse it, if we were going to. You know, their intent was this is a prohibitive rule at the outset. Furthermore, their case, they brought in 2023, was built primarily on data, from up to 2022. So between 2022 and 2025, we've had a lot of continued advancement in the space.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:And so that that's really where Jennifer and I, you know, started doing work is we said we we queried the experts and said, where are we at? Where are we at? Asking these questions are do how do you feel about what you're seeing now? And you see a lot of, you know, peer reviewed science talking about this. And then we went and talked and met with a lot of the authors of that peer reviewed science, you know, in 2024 and 2025 and said, what can we do now?
Matthias Sayer:And they said, you know, essentially, they said, we can do this. We can reuse this water in ways that are protective of human health and the environment. So that's why we got got to work and tried to write a rule that really incorporated the latest science and data and thinking on produced water.
Jennifer Bradfute:And what some of the pilot studies have shown so there's been about 12 big scale, large scale pilot projects that have been conducted within the last nine to twelve months. And the data from those pilot projects, most of the technologies piloted got the water down to a distilled water quality. Oh, wow. So, if you go to the supermarket and buy distilled water
Abe Baldonado:Sounds pretty safe.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. You're getting some ultra pure water. Now, you don't want to drink distilled water because all the minerals are stripped out of it, so you have to remineralize that water. So, now we're at that phase of, okay, so we can get it down to a distilled ultra pure water quality. Then the next question that I think advocates against treated produced water are saying, well, what about the unknown unknowns in the water?
Jennifer Bradfute:How do we know? We know you get it to a distilled water quality, but what if there's something in there that is toxic, that's lethal? Science developed there too. So, ask a question and eventually science will find an answer. So, a really cool set of technology has developed for both targeted and non targeted analysis.
Jennifer Bradfute:So, we no longer have to rely on disclosures from oil and gas companies, which I previously worked for oil and gas companies. There's nothing wrong with relying on disclosures. But if you are distrusting of an oil and gas company, why do you want to rely on a disclosure when you can run a scientific analysis of the water and it's going to tell you everything there.
Abe Baldonado:And it's coming from a scientist who studied it and ensured, Hey, this is safe.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. So, it's a really cool scientific development. And then we are now starting to see mammal studies, soil studies, and the data from those studies showing that treatment successful, that you are ending up with a water system that is good and positive and can be beneficially reused and it's not toxic.
Abe Baldonado:That's wonderful. And as I think about drought in New Mexico, the scarcity of water, I mean, this is a big opportunity for New Mexico. And I am delighted that you both are working on the forefront of this to ensure that our future generations of New Mexico have clean, treated water that can be used for multipurposes. And so just wanna thank you all for that. So I understand this rulemaking is actually being taken out on the road and to communities that are potentially impacted by this that maybe will benefit from this, but you all wanna make sure that communities are heard.
Abe Baldonado:And they're also educated on a lot of this. So just curious, where's this rulemaking road tour going, and, what communities can New Mexicans expect this rulemaking to go, be will it be in their community, maybe close by? I think that'll be some helpful, information for some of our viewers.
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. And we are you know, there's kind of two parts to to talk about here. One is the eventual hearing itself. We don't yet know where that hearing will be held. We have requested that the commission hold the hearing in the communities most affected by the proposed rule, which would be Lee County Mhmm.
Matthias Sayer:And Eddy County. So I think the commission is looking at holding this in Hobbs, to be determined. We'll we'll we should know within the coming weeks where they set the hearing and the dates for the hearing, And folks can, you know, can find that on the water quality control commission docket website or at the wateralliance.org, watralliance.org, because we'll put that there as well. But leading up to the hearing, we are conducting a series of education and outreach events, kind of town hall style events, and we're gonna be on the road starting up in Farmington. We're gonna be at the San Juan Junior College San Juan College on the twenty second.
Matthias Sayer:Okay. During the day, we're gonna have kind of an open house office hours period where Jennifer and I will be there to answer questions about the rule for anyone who wants to stop by. And then in the evening, we will well, there's a two hour town hall style event where we'll present the rule and answer questions. From Farmington, we're gonna go down to Las Cruces on the twenty third. And at New Mexico State, we will do the same thing.
Matthias Sayer:And from there, we're going to go to Socorro, New Mexico Tech on the twenty fifth. And then on the twenty ninth, we will end up in Hobbs at the New Mexico Junior College.
Abe Baldonado:And then
Jennifer Bradfute:we have two more events that we have yet to schedule dates for, but we're also going to hold an event in Albuquerque. We had a lot of parties who are questioning the rule really ask for a session to be held in Central New Mexico, so we'd want to honor that request and really engage in robust outreach. Then we're going to have a virtual only event as well that we'll be hosting. Folks may be asking themselves, Why are you taking this on the road and going to all these locations? Because the rule will only apply in 13 counties.
Jennifer Bradfute:So really the rule is focused on where the produced water is located or where the produced water research is located. So it is unlikely right now that you're going to see big efforts to send multiple trucks of produced water up to Central New Mexico. That transportation cost is really expensive, and you've got significant water needs in the communities where the produced water is produced, and so that water is probably going to stay in those local towns where it is produced, and those are the communities that need a rule, whereas communities in Central New Mexico, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, really, they don't need a rule because they're not going to see produced water use in those communities.
Abe Baldonado:Communities. Wonderful. That's good, helpful information. And so in what ways can folks get involved? We'll be happy to share any links, but do you all have a website, any fact sheets that you'd love to direct some of our viewers to if they'd like to learn more?
Abe Baldonado:Is there a good link? Is there a good information out there? We'll also put a link to the water quality control commission's website so that way they have access to the rulemaking if they're just curious to see what's been filed and what has been discussed so far. Yeah.
Matthias Sayer:I think there's a few spots that are worth taking a look at, the thewateralliance.org website, so wwatralliance.org, where we have some information and links. You mentioned the WQCC website. I think as well, you know, one of the big inquiries here, as we've talked about, is the science. And so I think the New Mexico produced water research consortium, they have a lot of good information. The Texas produced water research consortium does as well.
Matthias Sayer:So folks who really wanna spend their their weekends reading scientific papers, you've got dozens and dozens and dozens of of scientific papers that are talking about this particular issue.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. We'll let our, science loving folks, our viewers study some of that and go down through all that data and research.
Jennifer Bradfute:We would love to have people show up at our outreach events. So, if you're in one of the communities where we're gonna host an outreach event, we'll share that information with you, Abe. Yeah, absolutely. We'll also have it posted on our web site, and we'll be pushing that information out on social media throughout the next week. So, we'd love to see people come, ask good questions.
Jennifer Bradfute:Absolutely. Yeah, and we have a petition in support of the rule. We almost have 500 supporters who have signed supporting the rulemaking on change.org, and we'll also share that link.
Abe Baldonado:Okay. Yeah. Wonderful. Please share that link with us, and we'll post it alongside this podcast, and we'll make sure that folks have access to all the information that you all put together. And I just wanna take a moment and thank you all for the incredible work that you all are doing to push New Mexico forward, but also beat Texas.
Abe Baldonado:So we gotta be number one. Yeah. Gotta be number one. But it seems like New Mexico has a great opportunity here to be number one in produced water, and I think we just need to see that investment fulfilled.
Matthias Sayer:Yeah. I think so. Thanks, Dave. And I I mean, I I will say New Mexico and New Mexicans have been the thought leaders
Abe Baldonado:Mhmm.
Matthias Sayer:On leveraging this and other water resources. Texas picked up on that thought leadership and they're they're trying to run with it Yeah. And and take our water and we gotta keep it. Yeah.
Jennifer Bradfute:Yeah. We don't wanna get the short end of the stick.
Abe Baldonado:No. Again. Again. Wonderful. Jennifer, Matthias, thank you all for joining the Chile Wire.
Abe Baldonado:That wraps up this week, folks. Thank you so much, and tune in, and we'll be sure to provide all the information from today's episode. Thank you, and we'll see you next time.