Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland talked up her work as secretary of the Interior Department and stressed the urgency of water conservation in a speech Thursday at the 2025 Next Generation Water Summit.

Haaland warned the developers, local officials and water professionals gathered at the state Capitol for the summit there could be no more “business as usual.”

Longterm drought and high water use have changed the Rio Grande, she said.

“It doesn’t run as high. The water runs slower, and in late August, it’s a trickle of the river that it once was,” she said.

Haaland listed her priorities for the state’s water plan, including expanded groundwater management for “long-overdrawn basins,” incentives for farmers to implement water-saving measures, stricter water metering and moni

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