WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, October 19, 2011
WildEarth Guardians Champions the Rio Grande's Right to its own Water

Protests of Downstream to Upstream Water Transfers to Protect Ecosystem Values
Contact: John Horning (505) 988-9126 x1153

Santa Fe­– Seeking a Rio Grande capable of adapting to New Mexico’s changing climate, WildEarth Guardians challenged a proposal to transfer water from Socorro farmland to the City of Santa Fe. The City’s application seeks the transfer of a surface diversion right currently held by Vannetta Perry to 163.74 acre-feet that is used to irrigate 54.58 acres.  If approved, the transfer will offset previous groundwater pumping at the Buckman Well Field near Santa Fe.

Guardians’ seeks the denial of this and other downstream to upstream water transfer applications that reduce in-stream flow in the Middle Rio Grande. Further depleting flows in the Middle Rio Grande will increase evaporative loss, directly threaten Bosque ecosystems, impair existing downstream water rights and jeopardize the state’s compliance with the Rio Grande Compact.

“Cities in central and northern New Mexico are purchasing significant agricultural water rights that threaten to dry up the Rio Grande,” said John Horning, Executive Director of WildEarth Guardians.  “Transferring water from downstream irrigators to our state’s growing municipalities is not a sustainable, long-term solution. The cumulative effect of these transfers threatens ecosystem resilience and local agriculture in the Middle Rio Grande, and allowing them does not provide additional water supply for the future.”

New Mexico law states that the State Engineer may not approve any application to transfer water that will be detrimental to public welfare.  However, “public welfare” is not defined in New Mexico, leaving concerned stakeholders wondering when and how the region’s scarcest resource will be protected.  Absent leadership from the State Engineer, downstream ecological and agricultural interests will continue to suffer from poor long-term water planning.

Guardians’ protest comes at a critical time for the endangered species and irrigators of the Middle Rio Grande.  Facing potential 2012 shortages, the Middle Rio Grande

Conservancy District ceased releases from El Vado Reservoir on September 15th.  After the release of 60,000 acre-feet of supplemental water in 2011, a similar shortage in 2012 could demand the remaining 50,000 acre-feet currently held in storage. 

The State Engineer has the authority, capability and responsibility to ensure compliance with the Rio Grande Compact, and protect flows necessary for the ecosystems and downstream water users that rely upon the river.  Guardians believes the State of New Mexico should adopt a water transfer policy that addresses instream flow, Compact and agricultural needs if and when approving transfers.

Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and other upstream cities have been purchasing downstream water rights for decades, but the trend appears to be increasing in recent months. The water acquisitions by cities are intended to respond to new demands and offset groundwater pumping that has, over time, impacted surface flows.

“The water management shell game has to stop,” said Horning. “Instead, we need to focus on solutions that address ongoing future shortages through increased conservation and efficiencies.”

Guardians’ protests of water transfers are part of a new, larger campaign to secure the Rio Grande rights to its own waters and help agriculture adapt to the region’s changing climate.

WildEarth Guardians is a New Mexico-based nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to protecting and restoring wildlife, wild places, and wild rivers in the American West and beyond.  Guardians’ Wild Rivers Program works to preserve and restore resilient ecosystems able to adapt to our changing climate.