American Military News by Michael Gerstein 12/12/2019
Military bases in New Mexico are among a host of defense installations across the country that have not always kept proper tabs on water reserves, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, an oversight agency for Congress.
The federal report flagged the Department of Defense for not always “using reliable information regarding which installations are at risk for water scarcity†after comparing six previous reports from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and various military department reports on bases where water is not plentiful.
Since 2015, Congress has directed the Department of Defense to conduct three assessments aimed at identifying installations at risk of water scarcity and provide that information to federal lawmakers.
But the military has not always tracked how much water was available to bases or accurately estimated future water availability. It also did not always take into account all sources of water and did not precisely pinpoint the location of that water, according to the GAO report.
U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., said the report reflects water scarcity that communities face across the state.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/12/federal-report-new-mexico-military-bases-risk-water-scarcity/
