In 40 years only one notice to drill into a deep nonpotable aquifer was filed with the State Engineer. Then from 2006 to 2009, 63 notices proposing 606 deep wells for the appropriation of over 1.7 million acre-feet were filed, in what has been described as a “gold rush” on New Mexico’s deep groundwater. To put this in perspective, in 2005 groundwater withdrawals in the state totaled about 1.8 million acre-feet. Most of these notices were filed for municipal and related uses in the Albuquerque area. To date (November 2009) only seven deep wells have been drilled.
Recent (2009) amendments to New Mexico water law allow the State Engineer to declare and administer deep basins. Appropriations from a declared deep basin would remain subject to relatively streamlined administrative requirements, except for drinking water uses, which would be subject to the stricter laws governing shallow basins. The amendments also specify that a deep aquifer contain only nonpotable water, limiting the potential for connection to freshwater sources and effects on senior users and interstate streams. Within this context the State Engineer is exploring management options for New Mexico’s deep groundwater. These include strategically declaring deep basins, regulating deep well drilling and construction, and developing an administrative framework that allows resource development while protecting existing water users.