John D'Antonio, State Engineer

Office of the State Engineer

A registered professional engineer in New Mexico and Colorado, State Engineer John D’Antonio has experience in hydraulic design, acequia rehabilitation, water resource management, and water policy development.

Before he was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson to the state’s chief water post, D’Antonio was Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department in 2002. He served as the Director of the Water Resource Allocation Program for the Office of the State Engineer from 2001 to 2002 and served as the District 1 Supervisor in Albuquerque from 1998 to 2001.

D’Antonio worked 15 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a hydraulic design engineer, as the Chief of the Hydrology, Hydraulics, Sedimentation, and Floodplain Management Program, and was the project manager for the Acequia Rehabilitation Program.

A native New Mexican, D’Antonio received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of New Mexico in 1979.

He has been a member of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Water Issues from 1998 to the present.

In his post as State Engineer, D’Antonio is secretary of the Interstate Stream Commission, Chairman of the Water Trust Board, Governor’s Water Infrastructure Investment Team, and the Governor’s Drought Task Force. He is also the New Mexico Commissioner to the Rio Grande, Costilla, and Upper Colorado river compacts.

D’Antonio and his wife, Cassandra, along with their son, Nick, make their home in Albuquerque.