The Senate Conservation Committee tabled a scaled-down version of the governor’s proposed strategic water supply on an 8-1 vote Tuesday, with several members saying they believe the bill needs more work.

SB 294 removed the most controversial aspect of the proposal—the use of recycled produced water—and would have provided  $100 million for contracts with private companies to treat brackish water that could then be used for industrial purposes. That money would have been available for three years.

Produced water is a byproduct of oil and gas extraction and can contain fracking chemicals. Meanwhile brackish water is saline and often found in underground aquifers.

The funding in SB 294 was significantly less than the $500 million that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham proposed when she announced the strategic water supply. The governor asked for $250 million this year and another $250 million next year for the program.

The idea behind the strategic water supply is that using non-potable supplies like brackish water for industrial purposes will relieve some of the demand for freshwater resources.

The bill states that the purpose of the strategic water supply is to “reduce reliance on limited freshwater resources while furthering clean energy and advanced manufacturing development that meaningfully contributes to the state achieving a measurable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.”

Originally, the strategic water supply was included in the annual capital outlay bill, but that was removed and SB 294 was brought forward in its place. The legislation started as a dummy bill and was brought forward as the strategic water supply bill on Monday with merely days left to make its way through both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Had it passed, the state would have contracted with companies that have demonstrated technology to treat the brackish water and the treated water must meet water quality standards established by the Water Quality Control Commission. New Mexico would buy that treated water. The state would then sell the treated water that it acquires from the contracted companies to other private entities. Half of the proceeds from those sales would go to the severance tax bonding fund and the other half would go to the general fund.

The state would not need a place to store the water because, as Sen. William Soules, D-Las Cruces, put it, the water would be “produced on demand.”

In previous discussions, officials have said the company purchasing the water from the state would be tasked with transporting the treated supplies. Private companies would also need to provide all of the infrastructure.

The New Mexico Environment Department has already sent out a request for information regarding the treatment of both produced and brackish water.

Sen. Steven McCutcheon II, R-Carlsbad, proposed an amendment to change the term brackish water to nonpotable water. He proposed this because he said it should include water that is more saline than the definitions within the bill, which placed the upper level of total dissolved solids in brackish water at 10,000 milligrams per liter.

But that would include produced water and bill sponsor Sen. Liz Stefanics, D-Cerillos, said that was purposefully left out.

McCutcheon then suggested an upper threshold of 15,000 milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids.

Rebecca Roose, the governor’s infrastructure advisor, said that right now they did not support raising the threshold because there needs to be more discussions “technical experts who understand the existing industry standard definitions around brackish and saline water and make sure we get that right.”

McCutcheon’s proposed amendment failed on a 6-3 vote.

While the produced water was removed from the proposed strategic water supply, some environmental advocates remain concerned.

Some of the concerns include how the brine leftover after treatment of brackish water will be disposed of and whether there is enough understanding of New Mexico’s aquifers. They also expressed concerns about the slow recharge of deep, saline aquifers. Some of the brackish water aquifers are also no longer recharged by surface water. Brackish water may also be connected to freshwater aquifers.

State Engineer Mike Hamman said there would be a focused effort on ensuring that wells are constructed properly so that the brackish water does not enter the freshwater resources.

The advocates also say that while there may be a role for brackish water in meeting the state’s water challenges, there is not enough time left in the 30-day session to thoroughly vet the bill and that it should be discussed in interim committees and brought back next year.

One challenge to cleaning up brackish water is that treatment is both expensive and energy intensive.