Water in New Mexico is owned by the public and protected by laws which regulate and promote the beneficial use of the resource. At the state level, the regulation of water use is assigned to the State Engineer, whose administrative practices implement statutes, court decisions, interstate compacts and adopted regulations.

GENERAL LIST OF SERVICES

• Interstate litigation, including both interstate compacts and equitable apportionment court decrees;
• Federal reserved water rights;
• Regional water planning;
• Water rights acquisitions;
• Water rights adjudications in state and federal court;
• Water rights transfers;
• Applications for new or supplemental water rights;
• Applications for return flow credits;
• Water rights planning studies;
• Desalination
• 40-year regional water plans;
• 40-year municipal water plans;
• Water/wastewater regulatory issues;
• Abstracting water right files;
• Water rights opinion letters;
• Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act issues;
• Water rights legislation;
• Water rights mediation;
• Endangered Species Act consulting;
• Climate change planning and consulting;
• Drought management;
• Water conservation planning; and
• Interstate water management.