Oklahoma v. New Mexico

Background

New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma disputed how much water New Mexico could keep in reservoirs below Conchas Dam under the Canadian River Compact. The parties filed a joint motion and agreed to a stipulated judgment and decree, which the Court granted as modified. The decree addresses releases from Ute Reservoir, caps total conservation storage below Conchas Dam at 200,000 acre-feet, and sets an operating schedule for Ute Reservoir through 2002.

Reasoning

The Court found that New Mexico had been in violation of Article IV(b) of the Compact from 1987 to the judgment date and approved specific remedies the states negotiated. The judgment requires New Mexico to release set amounts from Ute Reservoir in 1993 and additional amounts over a multi-year schedule through 2002, coordinate releases with Oklahoma and Texas, and make releases at Texas’s call. The decree also imposes reporting and sediment-survey rules, preserves the Canadian River Commission’s approval role for certain reclassifications, and orders New Mexico to pay $200,000 each to Texas and Oklahoma for attorney fees.

Real world impact

The ruling forces changes in how Ute Reservoir is operated and reduces New Mexico’s storage below Conchas Dam while the schedule is in effect. Reservoir managers, downstream water users in Texas and Oklahoma, and state water planners will be affected by required releases, notification and coordination rules, and sediment accounting. The Court kept authority to modify the decree later but the ordered releases and fee payments must be carried out under the current judgment.