BACKGROUND -
HOW THE WATER BOARD CAME TO BE.
In September 2003, Doug Decker, the then acting County Manager, and the Board of County Commissioners identified the need to establish an advisory board that could make recommendations on County water issues. There were three main reasons why the Board of Commissioners advocated to establish an advisory group. The Commission saw that the County lacked:
1. A clear, official County-wide plan for water.
2. A true understanding of County water issues and needs, and how major County water users and interest groups felt about these issues and needs.
3. An advisory body that could develop recommendations and assist the Commission in developing stances on major issues like the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project and the Region 6 Water Plan.
McKinley County with guidance from the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments, developed a list of major water users, water districts, mutual domestic water users associations, tribal governments, and other groups with specific water needs.
Invitations were drafted for the first ever - McKinley County Water Forum, held on December 11, 2003 at UNM-Gallup.
The Forum offered a chance for the County to announce its need for an advisory group, and to have presentations for experts around the State of New Mexico on issues and needs.
At the close of the meeting, the County asked for volunteers to serve as an advisory group to the County.
Several individuals stepped courageously forward to answer this call, now making up the original members of what has become known, as the McKinley County Water Board.
The group meet for the first time ever on January 7, 2004 with technical support from co-facilitators - Larry Winn, President of the McKinley Soil & Water Conservation District and Jeff Kiely, Deputy Director of the Northwest NM Council of Governments.
The Water Board meets usually on the third Wednesday of each month at the Commission Chambers in the new County Courthouse Building from 10 AM - 12 PM.
McKinley County Water Board: Questions, Comments: Email Us
or
Call:
(505)722-4327
Site last updated
APRIL 30, 2006
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