Monday, Jan 28 2013 3:38PM

A district judge dismissed Logan's request for an injunction to halt the Ute Water Project.

U.S. District Judge William Johnson denied a request by the village of Logan, New Mexico, to halt the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority's Ute water project, according to the Quay County Sun. However, the village says it will fight the injunction and potentially take the matter to Congress. 

The village has fought the water authority for months, as a project that will divert Logan's scarce water resources away from Ute Lake and toward communities in Curry and Roosevelt counties. Despite the legal setback, the authority currently only has $20 million of the $550 million needed to complete the project, the Sun reports. The remaining 75 percent of funding will be provided by the federal government. 

However, authority chair Gayla Brumfield said the ruling will allow Phase 1 of the project, which involves building an intake structure at Ute Lake Reservoir, to begin immediately.

Larry Wallin, Village of Logan administrator, said that although he is "very disappointed" with the judge's ruling, the village will continue to fight the water project by lobbying Congress. Wallin told the newspaper that diverting resources away from Logan would be devastating to its local economy, and that Ute Lake will not support withdraws of 24,000 acre-feet on an annual basis. 

The fight over access to water system services is occurring in several rural states located throughout the Midwest, but few states have lobbied Congress for federal intervention unless the argument crosses state lines. 

For more information, check out this resource: The Quay County Sun