SANTA FE – The Office of the State Engineer Water Violation Maximum Penalties bill, designed to modernize and strengthen the state's enforcement tools against illegal water use as scarcity intensifies across the state, passed in the House chamber today with a 51-3 vote.
HB 111 now heads to the Senate. The bill has bipartisan support, sponsored by Representatives Kristina Ortez and Andrea Romero in the House and Senators Liz Stefanics, James Townsend and President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart in the Senate.
As New Mexico faces increasing water scarcity, the OSE has reported a surge in illegal water use and unauthorized well drilling. These activities threaten aquifers, risk contamination and undermine the rights of valid water users. HB 111 aims to ensure that illegal water use carries real consequences and that no violator can profit from the theft or sale of water.
The bill proposes increasing the maximum penalty for Water Code violations to $3,400 per day—reflecting inflation since the original $100 penalty was set in 1907—and establishes new penalties for the sale of illegally diverted water to ensure that stealing water is no longer profitable.
"Water laws only work if they can be enforced," said Representative Ortez. "HB 111 makes sure that breaking the law is no longer cheaper than following it."
The higher maximum penalties in HB 111 specifically equips the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) with an effective tool to deter illegal diversions, unpermitted well drilling and failures to comply with metering requirements. The bill also ensures that valid water rights holders remain protected as water supplies tighten and reports of unlawful water use continue to rise.
"Our enforcement framework must reflect the hydrologic realities we face today, not the conditions of 1907," said State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson. "This legislation updates penalty structures so they function as true deterrents and align with the economic value of water in a constrained system."
The legislation underscores the state's commitment to protecting water resources and ensuring that the OSE has the tools necessary to enforce compliance with New Mexico's Water Code.
