Water can remain in New Mexican rivers and still be
“beneficial,” says state Attorney General Tom Udall. Up until his
decision last month, water rights could be lost unless water was
diverted from a stream, and thereby put to beneficial use. Udall’s
ruling opens the door to marketing water rights for environmental
protection, which also opens a controversial issue: Where will the
water come from?
Small-scale agricultural
cooperatives fear their irrigation systems, acequias, are the
answer. New Mexico Acequia Association consultant John Brown says
there’s not enough water now for the state’s 800 acequias. “If more
water bypasses acequias because it is sold for instream flow,” he
says, “there won’t be enough water to fill acequia ditches and all
parciantes (farmers) would suffer.”
Steve
Harris, river-rafter and director of Rio Grande Restoration, says
acequia needs and instream flow rights need not conflict, though
“some acequias are convinced that environmentalists intend to steal
their water.” He and other conservationists are hopeful that a
“water bank” can help acequias, wildlife and recreationists.
*JT Thomas
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Water in rivers is OK.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
