Albuquerque-area voters will soon decide whether to authorize up to $30 million in general obligation bonds for flood-control projects stretching from the University of New Mexico area to the South Valley, Tramway Boulevard and Paseo del Norte. Officials say the money would not raise taxes, even as it funds dozens of repairs to a drainage system built to handle storms across the metro.
The question will appear on the November ballot, according to KOAT, and would authorize the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority, known as AMAFCA, to borrow money by selling bonds to investors. The agency has operated since 1963 and, as KRQE reports, manages regional stormwater for Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and surrounding areas. A separate report from the Albuquerque Journal notes that a “yes” vote would send the $30 million toward construction and repair of the city’s storm-drainage and flood-control systems.
Aging Channels Push Toward Replacement
Officials said flood-control infrastructure across the region is approaching or exceeding its roughly 50-year expected lifespan, a concern echoed in AMAFCA’s own bond materials describing facilities that “exceed their lifespan and need to be updated or replaced.” AMAFCA’s inventory includes 71 dams and ponds and 131 water-quality improvement structures.
AMAFCA’s work includes Agency and Area-Wide XII projects. The proposed bonds would fund an estimated 30 to 40 projects across the metropolitan area over several years, officials say, supporting new infrastructure alongside rehabilitation of aging channels, arroyos, dams and other drainage facilities.
No New Taxes, Officials Say
Paula Dodge, AMAFCA’s director of operations and maintenance, said stormwater structures reduce street and road flooding and improve safety. She said rejecting the measure would slow investment in flood-control infrastructure.
General obligation bond money can be used only for capital projects and equipment, not daily operations or routine maintenance, and the measure is not expected to increase taxes as older bonds are retired while new ones are issued, officials said. AMAFCA has held its debt-service mill levy to 0.675, unchanged since 1999, according to the agency, which says passage of new bonds does not result in a property tax increase because older bonds are retired as new ones are requested.
Rather than borrowing the full $30 million at once, AMAFCA would sell bonds in smaller amounts as funding is needed. If voters approve the measure, it could still take about 18 months before the agency sells bonds tied to this election and begins receiving proceeds, per the same KRQE account.
Leveraging Federal Dollars and Floodplain Relief
Bond money could also provide the required local match for federal grants, allowing AMAFCA to leverage additional federal funding for projects with its own bond proceeds. Some improvements could allow properties to be removed from federally designated floodplains, potentially eliminating flood insurance requirements for affected homeowners.
The agency’s FY 2027 Project Schedule, which maps planning, joint-funding, design and construction work over the next six fiscal years, lists projects including Calabacillas Arroyo improvements, South Domingo Baca diversion and channel reconstruction, North Domingo Baca Dam improvements and the Louisiana-Gibson Regional Drainage Facility. AMAFCA reviewed roughly 400 planned flood-control and water-quality projects, totaling more than $825 million in proposed work, before narrowing recommendations that were presented to its board during public meetings in winter 2025 and spring 2026. The agency describes the schedule as a planning and budgeting document rather than a binding commitment to fund or construct every project listed.
AMAFCA points to its Zuni-Pennsylvania detention pond, which the agency designed and funded using bond money, as an example of the kind of work the new bonds could support; the facility was nearing completion and was not yet completely operational, with the City of Albuquerque expected to take over maintenance. The agency also says its capital program has contributed $118.2 million to the local economy over the previous six years and supported more than 800 local jobs.
Part of a Larger November Ballot
AMAFCA’s bond question will not stand alone. The state of New Mexico, Bernalillo County and AMAFCA all have bond packages on the November ballot for voter approval, the Journal reports.
Flood-related promises have fallen through before. Albuquerque voters approved between $300,000 and $400,000 in 2018 bond money for a flash-flood warning system near the city’s arroyos, but the system was never built, according to KOAT. The city later estimated a comprehensive version of that warning system would cost $4 million to implement. A flash-flood warning system has been proposed for the city’s arroyos.
