In the late 1980's and early 1990's residents of the Estancia Basin became increasingly concerned about declining water levels, and their perception that water quality was deteriorating in the Basin.  In late 1993 Torrance County established the Estancia Basin Water Planning Committee composed of citizens representing major stakeholders in the Basin to address water resource related concerns.  In mid-1995 the Committee was formally established as a tri-county entity (Torrance, Bernalillo and Santa Fe) to address water resource related issues through an integrated Basin-wide approach.  With funding from the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, basin entities and counties, the Committee began to develop this Water Plan as its Number One Priority.

Given the concerns and recommendations of Basin residents, the Committee compiled and reviewed known data on water resources in the Basin and developed future economic, population and water use projections (Phase 1 Report); evaluated and summarized the data; developed conclusions, goals and alternatives; applied the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission Criteria from the NMISSC Regional Planners Handbook and Template to analyze five basic scenarios; developed the Water Plan; presented the Water Plan for public scrutiny and comment; finalized the Water Plan and presented it to the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission.