ALBUQUERQUE, March 20—Policies guiding the metro area’s response to droughts would change under a measure to be considered this week by the Water Authority’s governing board.

“Our existing Drought Management Strategy calls for an update every five years, so it was time that we took a look at the document and made some tweaks based on lessons learned and other factors,” said Katherine Yuhas, conservation officer for the Water Authority.   She said the biggest change in the new strategy is that it allows the Water Authority to offer positive incentives to customers for water savings instead of just enacting penalties.

“We’ve also been through two droughts now under the old strategy, so we’ve got a better idea of what’s effective in terms of getting people to use less water,” she added.

The new strategy, developed in close consultation with the Water Authority’s Customer Advisory Committee, will take into account customer demand as well as groundwater usage when drought stages are being declared, Yuhas said.

“This really puts a lot of control into our customers’ hands,” she said.  “If they respond well early, we can avoid declaration of the more-severe drought stages.”

First reading of the measure is scheduled for the Water Authority Board meeting on Wednesday, March 21 at 5:00 PM in Council Chambers in the basement of One Civic Plaza.

A draft of the proposed strategy is available by clicking here.