RIO RANCHO, New Mexico — Following the State’s announcement that the primary public boat ramp at Elephant Butte Lake has closed as the reservoir has fallen to approximately 1.4% of capacity, Republican gubernatorial candidate Gregg Hull is calling on New Mexico to make long-term water security one of the state’s highest priorities.
The closure comes as the Southwest continues to face one of the most severe and prolonged droughts in modern history. Elephant Butte, once one of the West’s largest reservoirs, has now fallen to a historic low, threatening recreation, tourism, agriculture, and local economies across southern New Mexico. At the same time, communities across the state are feeling the effects of worsening water shortages. Just this week, the Village of Angel Fire declared a local water emergency and implemented mandatory water restrictions, underscoring that this challenge extends far beyond a single reservoir.
“The historic drought facing the American West is real, and no governor can make it rain,” Hull said. “This drought isn’t the state’s fault, but failing to prepare for it is.”
Hull said New Mexico has spent years discussing water shortages while making too little progress on the infrastructure and technology needed to protect the state’s future.
“As our water challenges have grown, our long-term planning should have grown with them,” Hull said. “Instead, we’ve watched one warning after another become reality.”
A Hull administration would make water policy one of its signature priorities by investing in projects that expand and protect New Mexico’s water supply.
Those priorities include:
Modernize New Mexico’s water storage and delivery infrastructure.
Invest in aquifer recharge projects to capture and store more water for future generations.
Make water infrastructure one of New Mexico’s highest investment priorities.
Expand the safe treatment and beneficial reuse of produced water where scientifically appropriate.
Invest in technologies that make brackish water a reliable resource for communities, agriculture, and economic growth.
Hull said these investments are about more than preserving a lake.
“Every drop of water supports New Mexicans somewhere,” Hull said. “It supports agriculture in the Mesilla Valley, businesses that depend on tourism at Elephant Butte, manufacturers looking to invest here, and families who simply expect reliable water for the future.”
He added that the current administration has had years of warnings that New Mexico was entering a new era of long-term drought but has failed to build a comprehensive strategy to address it.
“Leadership isn’t measured when everything is going well,” Hull said. “It’s measured by whether you prepare before a crisis arrives. New Mexico deserves leadership that plans for the next generation, not just the next news cycle.”
Hull pledged that, as governor, water policy would receive the same level of attention as public safety and economic development.
“We cannot build New Mexico’s future without protecting the resource that makes every community possible,” Hull said.
