I am a mother to an 8-year-old boy, and I work for The National Center for Frontier Communities/Food Hub, clean water holds a deeply personal significance to me. Not only do I witness the direct impact of water quality on the food grown locally, but as a parent, I cherish the moments spent with my son swimming in the rivers, gardening, and exploring local watersheds. Clean water isn't just a necessity for our livelihoods; it is central to the well-being and joy of our community, our families, and our environment.

How can we survive without access to clean, safe water? The obvious answer is we can't. Our families require clean water for drinking water; our farmers need clean water to irrigate crops and pasture; and our local businesses rely on clean water to function.

Water sustains us all and our local economies.

However, recent actions at the federal level have removed Clean Water Act safeguards from the majority of New Mexico's waterways, leaving 96% of our streams, rivers, and reservoirs unprotected from industrial pollution and other discharges. New Mexico is one of only three states in the country without a state-level surface water quality protection program.

Recognizing this major threat to the well-being of all New Mexicans and our state's economy, Senators Siah Correa Hemphill, Peter Wirth, Elizabeth Stefanics and Representative Debra Sariñana are sponsoring Senate Bill 111 that will appropriate $840,000 to the NM Environment Department to use existing protections in state law to safeguard our surface water until a surface water quality permitting program can be put in place. This could take 7 - 10 years, so it is crucial to act now to protect New Mexico's waters.

With a historic budget surplus, there is no better time to allocate the resources this legislative session to protect our precious water supplies for the future.

Don't forget: Agua es la vida! Water is life!

Signed,

Elysha Montoya