New Mexico lawmakers are sponsoring legislation, authorizing the Water 2025 grant program, as a way to provide communities and water systems with a means to gain federal assistance for water-related projects.

New Mexico lawmakers are sponsoring legislation, authorizing the Water 2025 grant program, as a way to provide communities and water systems with a means to gain federal assistance for projects related to water conservation, water-use efficiency, water markets, enhanced water management, or actions to prevent water-related crises or conflicts in watersheds.

The legislation authorizes the Secretary of Interior to provide grants on a competitive basis to plan, design, construct and implement improvements in an effort to conserve water.

For fiscal year 2007, the federal Bureau of Reclamation has requested $14.5 million for Water 2025, a $9.6 million increase over the fiscal year 2006 enacted level.