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WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is proposing to undertake the first comprehensive census of U.S. water resources in 30 years.

But that's about all Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, a Silver City Democrat, likes about a proposed budget that cuts overall funding for water resource programs by 26 percent from what they were in 2001.

"Clearly, water resources are not a priority for this administration," Bingaman told Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne at a hearing Wednesday.

Bingaman said he does not expect Congress to go along with the budget.

The hearing came one day after the Scripps Institution of Oceanography released a report citing a 50 percent chance that demand for Colorado River water — coupled with the effects of global warming — could drain Lake Mead dry by 2021. Lake Mead is the West's largest reservoir.

"It's likely to mean real changes to how we live and do business in this region," said Scripps climate scientist David Pierce.

"We were stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us," said Barnett. "Make no mistake, this water problem is not a scientific abstraction, but rather one that will impact each and every one of us that live in the Southwest."

Kempthorne agreed Wednesday. "Water scarcity is not just a problem for the West," he said. "It is a problem for the nation."

The administration added $21.3 million to the budget for a Water for America initiative that will help communities secure reliable water supplies, he said. That will start with a nationwide assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey of water availability, water quality and human and environmental use. That census would be completed by 2019.

Bingaman said the administration's response did not fully address the problem.

"The modest increase for this initiative is far outweighed by the magnitude of proposed cuts for other programs, which undermine water recycling efforts, rural water projects and progress in the area of water-related technology development," he said.

On a New Mexico water project, Bingaman pressed Kempthorne to allocate enough funds to finish an environmental impact statement for a pipeline to bring water from the San Juan River to Gallup and the Navajo Nation. Many Navajos have to haul water from nearby communities in cars or trucks to their homes.

Kempthorne confirmed the department is short $266,000 to complete the assessment and promised to work with Bingaman and Sen. Pete Domenici, an Albuquerque Republican, to find the money.

Domenici complained to Kempthorne about a budget proposal to charge gas and oil well drillers $4,150 to apply for a permit to drill on Bureau of Land Management land. He said it would put an undue burden on small independent producers, especially those in New Mexico.