WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Pay a Buck, Fill the River - Keep water flowing in the Rio Grande

The WildEarth Guardians goal is to have a constant flow in the river to protect endangered species
Contact: Staci Matlock The New Mexican

Residents of Santa Fe and other Northern New Mexico communities could be asked whether they want to give $1 a month to keep water flowing in the Rio Grande for endangered species, if local leaders approve an environmental group’s proposal.

The WildEarth Guardians wants municipalities and counties that contract for water from the federal San Juan/Chama Diversion Project to add a voluntary $1 check-off box on monthly utility bills.

The money would be used by the Santa Fe-based organization to buy water rights and leave the water flowing in the Rio Grande. Cities and counties also would be able to pitch in money for a fund to lease agricultural water rights in the Middle Rio Grande to maintain flows for species such as the endangered silvery minnow.

The city of Albuquerque approved such a deal with WildEarth Guardians last year as part of a settlement in a federal lawsuit.

Los Alamos County councilors are scheduled to vote tonight on a resolution proposed by WildEarth Guardians. The usually litigious Santa Fe environmental group says in exchange for a “yes” vote by councilors, it won’t oppose the county’s bid for permanent water rights to the Rio Grande through the San Juan/Chama Diversion Project, said John Horning, executive director of WildEarth Guardians.

WildEarth Guardians hopes Santa Fe and the other entities with rights to Rio Grande water through the San Juan/Chama project sign similar agreements, Horning said. The goal is to keep the Rio Grande alive while recognizing the water needs of growing cities. “Part of what informs our efforts is raising consciousness,” Horning said. “We’re growing cities by tapping into the Rio Grande. This is the perfect time for us to do something for the river.”

Los Alamos County’s current contract for 1,200 acre-feet of San Juan/Chama water expires in 2007, with an option to extend it 10 years, according to Tim Glasco, the county’s deputy utilities manager. Los Alamos, like Santa Fe city and county, is seeking to turn that contract into a more permanent one.

For 35 years, the federal government has diverted water from the San Juan River to Rio Chama through a series of tunnels. Rights to the water are divvied up among more than a dozen entities, including Santa Fe, via contracts. Rio Chama enters the Rio Grande north of Española .

Under the resolution, Los Alamos County would agree to the monthly checkoff and to committing $10,000 for a fund to lease agricultural water rights from Middle Rio Grande farmers. Any such lease agreement would first need a willing seller among agricultural-water-rights holders along the Rio Grande and approval by the state engineer.

Los Alamos County’s utilities board approved the resolution in mid-March .

The resolution is based on a similar agreement reached among WildEarth Guardians , other environmental groups and the city of Albuquerque last year as part of a federal court settlement, Horning said. The groups sued the city and the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County water-utility authority in 1999 for failing to keep some water in the river for the silvery minnow.

The city agreed to put money into a water-rights purchase fund and also agreed to reserve 30,000 acre-feet of its eventual storage capacity at Abiquiú Reservoir in Northern New Mexico for environmental groups to store water for release into the river during dry periods. Albuquerque has permanent rights to 48,200 acre-feet of San Juan/Chama water per year.

The city of Santa Fe is next on the WildEarth Guardians’ list. Santa Fe is in the process of requesting its contracted rights to 5,605 acre-feet of water if the San Juan/Chama project becomes permanent. Another 11 municipal and pueblo entities also have water rights to the San Juan/Chama water.

Copyright 2006 Santa Fe New Mexican - Reprinted with permission