New Mexico Surveys Brackish Water Reserves for Drought
State surveys underground brackish water as persistent drought strains supplies, with a brine management plan submitted for review.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Utilities
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New Mexico is surveying underground brackish water reserves estimated to hold 1.3 trillion gallons, with work underway on the West Mesa. A brine management plan has been submitted to the state Environment Department.
Why it matters
The surveying effort responds to a water crisis driven by persistent drought, and state leaders aim to establish large-scale desalination plants in New Mexico. Brackish water could supply a meaningful share of future needs if it can be treated and its concentrate safely managed.
Estimated reserves of 1.3 trillion gallons, or nearly 4 million acre-feet, compare with about 2.2 million acre-feet held by Elephant Butte Lake when full, while more than $40 million in grants and contracts has been allocated. The reserve figures remain estimates until surveying on the West Mesa and proposed deep wells near 7,600 feet are completed.
The players
New Mexico Environment Department
The state agency that oversees environmental regulation and received the brine management plan for review.
El Paso Water
The utility operating the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant, a comparable brackish water treatment facility in Texas.
The details
The Strategic Water Supply Act, co-sponsored by Sen. George Muñoz, was passed by the New Mexico Legislature in 2025. Desalination uses reverse osmosis to filter salt from brackish water, as in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant in El Paso, Texas, which converts nearly 30 million gallons daily for about 100,000 people; engineers are exploring deep injection wells or evaporation ponds to handle the concentrate.
Timeline
2025: New Mexico Legislature passes the Strategic Water Supply Act.
Within the next month: Brine management plan expected to be finalized.
Roadmap
The Strategic Water Supply Act, passed in 2025, set the state on a course to develop non-traditional water sources as drought reduces surface supplies. The surveying work on brackish water extends that policy into concrete reserve mapping and funded development.
Residents and water users in New Mexico may eventually see new water sources if brackish water development proceeds, but the projects are still in survey and planning stages. Any near-term change to household water costs or availability has not been established.
The takeaway
Developing brackish water could ease drought pressure in New Mexico, but its success will depend on confirmed reserve estimates and a workable plan for disposing of desalination concentrate.
What happens next
The brine management plan submitted to the New Mexico Environment Department is expected to be finalized within the next month.
Further reading
For related coverage, see Utilities in New Mexico.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KOAT 7.
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