Acequias, meet your commission

One of the most fascinating aspects about acequias in New Mexico is the apparent "division of labor" for these ditches and institutions. This morning, I attended the latest meeting of the New Mexico Acequia Commission, a body of representative appointed by the Governor of the state. It is currently chaired by Ralph Vigil, also an employee of the New Mexico Acequia Association. There's no accident here, as Ralph himself made clear, since the Commission (a government body) used to get its budget indirectly through the NMAA, as part of the latter's state funding specified carving out a chunk from its governance for the Acequia Commission's use. The NMAA is a non-profit, not a state agency. So, no wonder sometimes people are confused about who does what, in what capacity, and for whom.

The main "action item" on the agenda for this morning would be predictable for most state employees in the current economy: budget cuts, and budget freezes. In this case, the real concern was the freezing of capital improvement funds for acequia projects and basic infrastructure maintenance. The money that funnels through the state, then to the Department of Agriculture (Acequia Community Ditch Fund), are then prioritized for distribution (both quantity and order) by someone at the department of agriculture, a member of the ISC and a member of the commission. While this can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars, these are largely spread across the state, though the bulk of it finds its way to the real clusters of acequias in northern New Mexico. Even the commission's budget is not spared, already having been reduced by some 46% from 2008 to 2009, and another possible 5% cut during this fiscal year (thought it's not guaranteed) and the modest allowance for per diem and travel expenses might last through June 2010 when the budget year ends.

Perhaps even more intriguing was the presence of some parciantes from Chimayo on the Espinoza Ditch -- a few property owners along the tail end of the ditch, the desague in New Mexico acequia-speak, are and have long been affected by a serious erosion problem as an arroyo has been channeled into the outlet tail. The result of which is serious erosion of their actual property bordering on the end of the ditch. Apparently, it has become a proverbial "pass-the-buck" situation, and the commission was asked to intervene and perhaps provide some form of conflict resolution. The room certainly quieted when one of the affected owners simply asked "Who is liable for the loss of my land?" [I could almost hear the distant flap of lawyers overhead]. Two members of the commission agreed to step forward and try to work with the ditch commissioners, along with the NM Department of Transportation, to seek a solution to the problem. NMDoT is also responsible for many acequia/culvert/drainage problems up in the Taos Valley, so it would not surprise me if the state road 76 crossing (and one of its plugged culverts) was responsible for at least part of this problem. The intersection of these overlapping "spatial" administrative problems is usually where problems occur for acequias, whether they be in rural Embudo or in urban Albuquerque. Clearly, the acequia does not have the permanent funding to solve the situation described above, and apparently not much good will at this point. So where does the buck stop in such situations? Ask the poor people on the Spring Ditch up in Taos for another disappointing example of treating an acequia like a drainage ditch (near a road).

Most of the members on the commission, logically, are current parciantes, former mayordomos, who have long been involved in trying to secure and defend rural water. In the latest episode of "who's trying to steal your water democracy?" the US Forest Service has started to ask parciantes on ditches located in FS lands for extended impact studies (EIS) for any work at their channel and diversion points. So communities first lost access to land grants, their community grazing and forest lands, now the forest service is trying to add insult to injury by making it more difficult to access head-water acequia areas for basic work? Why? And yet acequias are given special dispensation and have easement rights to either side of the acequia and their beginning point. Progress had been made this last year to get acequias some "waivers" on the studies and funds needed to provide these impact studies, but in 2010, it may start all over again. Some representatives of state and federal legislators were present this morning and made it clear they were interested in seeking a permanent legislative solution to this new "Floresta" intrusion on local water managment. And it is quite likely that acequias will have to think long and hard about their diversion points and impoundment strategies if climate projections for the state hold true. There are some interesting opportunities out there for students to learn more about the future challenges in a dry state.

This is not an exhaustive list but it should give you an idea of the kind of work that the New Mexico Acequia Commission does, and its interesting position within the DFA (Department of Finance and Administration) as an officially recognized state government body. There is no permanent space, or permanent staffing, but they do meet monthly usually within the DFA offices in the Bataan Building in the south Capitol complex. Currently working in cooperation with the relatively better funded NMAA, and its clear notion of helping acequias directly, and the state of the Office of the State Engineer (see last post), the Acequia Commission has to tread interesting waters with a small budget, little time, and a single monthly meeting (for now). Suerte!
*corrected 11.20.09 - 7:57 p.m.