City, county sign permanent water contracts

The city and county of Santa Fe joined the governor and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday at the Capitol in signing permanent contracts for San Juan-Chama Project water.

Santa Fe's contract is for 5,230 acre-feet of water annually while the county's contract is for 375 acre-feet per year. Both contracts have no expiration date. The city's and county's original contracts were scheduled to expire in 2016. Both will draw their share of San Juan-Chama water from the Rio Grande through the Buckman Direct Diversion project when it is completed.

The contracts were years in the making, said Santa Fe Mayor David Coss. ``Ever since the '70s, the city has sent a delegation to Washington, D.C., asking for permanent contracts. Now we'll have to find a different reason to go there,'' Coss said.

``This is a milestone achievement,'' Gov. Bill Richardson said. ``This is about securing a water future for New Mexico.''

Espanola, Taos, Los Alamos County, Taos Ski Valley and Los Lunas also signed permanent contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for San Juan-Chama water.

Most of them said the permanent contracts will ensure a secure water supply to promote economic growth.

Espanola Mayor Joseph Maestas said the permanent contract is crucial for his Northern New Mexico town.

``The city is 100 percent reliant on groundwater, and our groundwater is increasingly polluted,'' he said.

Maestas used the opportunity to lobby the governor for money to build a regional water-treatment plant by 2010. ``We need funding to move forward with the plant,'' Maestas said.

The San Juan-Chama Project is a concrete tunnel built under the Continental Divide. It diverts water from the San Juan River to the Chama River, which joins the Rio Grande.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation contracts with 15 counties, cities and tribes to provide a total of 96,200 acre-feet of water per year from the project.

Most of the water goes to the Albuquerque and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, both of which signed permanent contracts in the 1970s.

Two factors can still impact San Juan-Chama water deliveries -- long-term drought and the Navajo Nation Water Rights settlement.

Estevan Lopez, director of the Interstate Stream Commission, said the state and Bureau of Reclamation analyzed historic water flows and feel certain the San Juan-Chama system can consistently meet contract terms.

In cases of prolonged drought, however, the contractors would have to share in the water shortages, Lopez said.

The Navajo Nation Water Rights settlement, signed by the state and tribe last year, guarantees the tribe's water rights while protecting other water-rights holders like the San Juan-Chama contractors, Lopez said.

The Navajo water-rights deal still requires the state and federal governments to come up with an estimated $850 million in the next 15 years, he said.

Of that amount, the federal government's portion would be an estimated $700 million.

``The settlement has timelines. Given the federal budget situation, it's making everyone nervous,'' Lopez said.

If the settlement isn't funded and the parties withdraw, the tribe can potentially claim all the water in the San Juan River, and it would be a legal battle to determine final water rights, Lopez said.

All water rights on the San Juan could be impacted, including the San Juan-Chama contracts.

Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.