Dec. 23—Having grown up in New Mexico, Courtenay Eichhorst was present when the multinational technology company Intel Corp. started building a facility in Rio Rancho. While the company brought thousands of jobs, Eichhorst was skeptical — even fearful — that Intel’s presence would damage water quality in Albuquerque and surrounding communities.
Today, his Corrales well water is fantastic.
Eichhorst, the president of the New Mexico Building and Construction Trade Council, gave the anecdote at a water conference held at the Pueblo of Pojoaque Thursday by Sen. Bobby Gonzales, D-Ranchos de Taos. The senator gathered environmental, economic and workforce experts at the daylong event for panels all focused on water.
Water is important for economic development, said Rob Block, Economic Development Department secretary-designate, who was moderating the panel Eichhorst and others spoke on.
“It’s an important part of this broader economic development conversation,” Black said.
Intel uses a lot of water, Black pointed out, but also recycles most of it, cleaning it up for other purposes or sending it back into the river.
Black asked what jobs come with water development projects in general, to which Eichhorst said construction, maintenance and operation jobs. He brought up the Los Lunas Facebook facility as an example, where construction is anticipated to continue through 2026, maintaining a high demand for contract workers.
Black added that there are other economic results of facilities like that, like restaurants and stores and parks opening.
At one point, Eichhorst said, Intel employed more than 2,000 craftspeople, from construction workers to painters. And the company isn’t even done expanding in New Mexico, he added, bringing up this year’s Fab 9 expansion.
Black said in the last three weeks, he’s talked to six different developers and data centers interested in coming to New Mexico.
“Think about that sort of economic development in your county, (and) what it would mean,” Black said.
To get there, he said, the state needs to be creative in finding new sources of water. That drew the conversation back to the introductory remarks he made upon starting the panel discussion.
“We’re going to have 25% less water in 50 years than we have today,” he said, referring to the state’s 50-year water plan. “And when you think about that, you think about the need to grow to make sure that we’re keeping our current industries resilient, but also being able to grow jobs so that our kids can stay here in New Mexico.”
He asked audience members to raise their hands if they were from Rio Rancho. Why? That’s one of the few places in New Mexico that repurposes sewer water into potable, drinking water.
“Part of why we’re having this conversation, and a big part of that 50-year strategy, talks about the need for new water and specifically calls out the idea of a strategic water reserve,” he said.
It’s a proposal from the Governor’s Office, commonly known as a strategic water supply, that would set aside funding to propel water reuse, specifically the treatment of brackish and produced water. Legislation failed to garner enough support to pass through the Legislature this year, and the bill is expected to come up again in 2025 with a $75 million request.
Last year, policymakers didn’t introduce a strategic water supply bill until the final days of the session, after funding was stripped out of the capital outlay package. For the 2025 Legislature, lawmakers can start introducing bills as early as Jan. 2.