Pojoaque Basin regional water project progressing

Mar. 5—Crews are making progress in building the mammoth Pojoaque Basin regional water system — the final step in resolving more than a half-century of legal wrangling over how the area's finite water supply should be shared.

However, opinions vary on whether the federal government has made satisfactory gains since it began construction almost three years ago on a system that will divert and treat Rio Grande water to ease the strain on the area's wells and streams.

Aside from bolstering the region's water supply, the system will help settle the Aamodt litigation, one of the country's longest-running water disputes, dating back to 1966.

When finished, it will have treatment facilities, storage tanks and 150 miles of pipeline to supply up to 4,000 acre-feet of drinking water a year — about 1.3 billion gallons — to the Nambe, Tesuque, San Ildefonso and Pojoaque pueblos as well as to other Santa Fe County customers in the basin, according to agency data.

The work is planned to proceed in three phases, with completion in 2028. The project is still in the first phase, with crews expected to begin building the treatment plant — a crucial component — sometime this year.

Santa Fe County Commissioner Anna Hansen said the project should be further along by now.

"Things are happening, but it's just slow," Hansen said. "I think things should be moving faster."

Hansen said she's also displeased with what she sees as federal officials' lack of communication on the project.

She recently went to Washington, D.C., to press the Bureau of Reclamation — the agency overseeing construction — and other agencies to be more engaged with local communities and, if possible, to pick up the pace.

Hansen said she thinks her prodding led to the Reclamation Bureau agreeing to give an update at a Pojoaque meeting that was scheduled for Thursday but was postponed until later this month because of inclement weather. It has not yet been rescheduled.

Hansen said New Mexico can slip down on the feds' priority list because it's a poor state a long way from Washington.

"I think what happens is we're out here in the West, and nobody really cares about us," Hansen said.

San Ildefonso Pueblo Gov. Christopher Moquino has a different perspective.

"We're seeing what we think is significant progress," Moquino said. He added the intake system, which will draw water from the river, is complete and that crews now will concentrate on the treatment plant.

There has been some difficulty obtaining materials and nailing down contractors on some parts of the project, but he hasn't heard of the construction overall going too slowly, he said.

"The county may have a different viewpoint from that," Moquino said.

The state and county have agreed to chip in a combined $115 million for the project. Federal agencies are authorized to spend up to $413 million on the work, according to Reclamation Bureau spokeswoman Mary Carlson.

So far, crews have installed raw water pipelines and two collector wells and have completed foundation and site grading work and built access roads, Carlson wrote in an email.

They've also installed a pipe connecting the wells to the mechanical and electrical building at the heart of the operating system. In the spring, they will begin work on the treatment plant, which will include electrical installations, tanks and piping, Carlson wrote.

Crews are also expected to finish constructing the mechanical and electrical building and installing the intake pipes that draw water from the river — all part of Phase 1, Carlson wrote.

About $30 million in federal infrastructure money will go to the project. It's part of the $580 million that 15 New Mexico tribes will receive for water rights settlements.

The Aamodt case has shown how complex and contentious New Mexico's water management can be.

Congress approved a settlement agreement in 2010, followed by more legal tussles, congressional actions and negotiations to revise it.

The Aamodt water rights litigation grew out of concerns the basin lacked the water to fulfill everyone's needs and rights, especially during droughts. Those concerns are growing as the climate becomes warmer and drier, depleting water sources.

Agricultural and household demands for water came into conflict.

Many households in the region rely on wells for drinking water and for irrigating gardens. A hydrological study determined pumping these wells sometimes reduced the flow of streams, which supply water to growers, both on and off pueblo lands.

Moquino said he hopes diverting Rio Grande water ends up being a long-term solution, but that it's hard to predict the future with a changing climate.

"Climate change ... is definitely something we always have to think about," Moquino said. "What's the direct impact that that's going to have on surface water and availability?"

Another significant issue is ensuring the new system is affordable to users, Moquino said, adding it's unclear how to avoid passing the system's hefty costs to the consumers.

The rates that will be charged to each pueblo and to county users has yet to be worked out, Moquino said.

The prospect of paying substantially more for Rio Grande water has spurred an outcry from some well users, who say they won't connect to the new system.

Moquino said the more users who tap into the system, the lower the shared costs would be. For that reason, it will be imperative to establish reasonable rates upfront, he added.

'That's a very big issue we're concerned about," he said