A group of lawmakers is urging the Biden administration to address extreme drought in the Rio Grande Basin.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, four senators encouraged the department to collaborate with local governments, Tribes and Pueblos, farmers and ranchers and other communities to develop a funding plan to address drought in the basin.
“Amidst aridification and ongoing drought, communities throughout the Rio Grande Basin are grappling with decreasing quantities and predictability of water supplies,” the senators wrote.
“Despite a relatively wet water year, the Rio Grande still needs substantial investment in long-term drought adaptation.”
The San Juan Mountains in Colorado are the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, which flows into New Mexico and onto the border between Texas and Mexico. The senators request the Interior Department consider the Rio Grande Basin to benefit from Inflation Reduction Act funding for drought mitigation.
