Long-running pueblo water rights case settled
Sep. 6—A nearly 30-year water rights dispute involving Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, the state, several acequia groups and Española was resolved in a settlement that all parties applauded, saying it will ensure equitable water supply in the Rio Chama system during shortages certain to arise with climate change.
The agreement provides $818.3 million in federal funding to Ohkay Owingeh to restore and maintain the Rio Chama and Rio Grande bosque, develop water supply and wastewater infrastructure and acquire and manage pueblo water rights.
A key provision is to eliminate the priority calls that put the pueblo and senior acequias ahead of more junior users in receiving the river water. The pueblo agreed to this more even playing field for water sharing.
The pact is considered important as users have seen the Rio Chama's water supply diminish over the past century with large reservoirs being built, the river being channelized and the upstream population growing.
The depleted surface water has led to Ohkay Owingeh irrigating less and seeing the bosque — which is culturally significant to the pueblo — shrink to a fraction of its former size.
"This is a historic settlement for Ohkay Owingeh," Larry Phillips Jr., the pueblo's governor, said in a statement. "It provides the water we need now and, in the future, to continue on our path to self-sufficiency. It will give us the means to restore the bosque, or riparian corridors, along our rivers, which are important to our culture."
Phillips and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the settlement last week, with the other parties also approving it.
State and local leaders will request Congress approve and fund the settlement and authorize Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to sign it.
The parties also will ask New Mexico legislators to provide state funding for the non-pueblo users and make the necessary changes in state law to carry it out.
"Resolving the outstanding water rights claims of the Pueblos, Tribes and Nations in New Mexico is critical to moving our state toward greater equity and water security," Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "I urge Congress to act quickly to advance this agreement through the Senate and House to deliver another win for everyone involved."
The roughly 80 acequias that rely on the Rio Chama also have experienced decreasing surface water supply, the settlement said.
About $98.5 million in state funds will be used to improve and protect acequia water supplies and infrastructure. The money can be used to boost water storage in upstream reservoirs, in part to extend the irrigation season for the acequia communities and Ohkay Owingeh.
The settlement earmarks $32 million in state money for Española to develop safe drinking water wells.
The state is adding two full-time employees to the Office of the State Engineer, partly to assist with the upcoming projects, and creating a $500,000 mitigation fund.
Aside from the state, pueblo and Española, the parties settling are: the Asociación de Acéquias Norteñas de Rio Arriba; the Rio de Chama Acéquias Association; La Asociación de las Acéquias del Rio Vallecitos; Tusas y Ojo Caliente and El Rito Ditch Association.
Prior Native water rights settlements in New Mexico revolved around large water projects and shared costs of construction, the settlement said. An example is the $413 million Pojoaque Basin regional water system being built to help settle the half-century-old Aamodt litigation.
The parties in those previous settlements have had to return to Congress to seek more funding as construction expands and building costs increase over time.
In contrast, the funding sought in this agreement will allow both Ohkay Owingeh and the non-pueblo parties to assess the needs of their communities based on climate change and regionalization, so they can determine how to best protect resources in the Rio Chama system, it said.
"This is a significant settlement for the pueblo, acéquias and all other water users on the Rio Chama," Antonio Manzanares, president of Asociación de Acéquias Norteñas de Rio Arriba, said in a statement. "The settlement embraces long-standing practices of water sharing for historic and traditional irrigation and provides financial resources to deal with declining supply."
