Enjoy the Sounds and Sights of the Santa Fe River While You Can
Valarie Morris
for New Mexico Free Press
May 20, 2009
The Santa Fe River is back! Every day from May 1 through August, you can see and hear variations on the river theme as the city of Santa Fe continues its surface water releases from the McClure and Nichols Reservoirs.
The City made a major commitment to give 700 acre feet of water to the Santa Fe River this year. One acre foot is the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot, which is 325,851 gallons.
The Santa Fe River was No. 1 on the American Rivers list of Most Endangered Rivers in America in 2007. In many countries it's illegal to kill a river, the heart of a community.
"The proposed water budget lists a living Santa Fe River as one of the priorities of the city," said Councilor Rebecca Wurzburger, the main sponsor of the Water Budget Ordinance.
Besides its natural beauty that draws the community together, the river helps recharge our aquifier — the rocky layer underground that stores water. The Santa Fe River also provides water for plants and animals along its corridor, outdoor spots for tourists to enjoy, drought prevention, and sometimes trout for fishing enthusiasts.
Claudia Borchert, a water resources coordinator in the Santa Fe Water Division, a city policy is in place to release 1,000 acre feet of water annually to the river starting in 2011.
David Groenfeldt, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Watershed Association, said he hopes to achieve this goal sooner to help save the river.
The Santa Fe Watershed delivers rainfall and snowmelt to the Santa Fe River. It covers about 285 square miles, extending from Lake Peak in the Santa Fe National Forest above the McClure and Nichols Reservoirs to the Rio Grande, near Cochiti Reservoir.
The city's current policy requires that new development offset its impact on the water system by transferring water rights to the city or by conservation.
"Continuing to conserve water and advocating for the river go hand in hand," Borchert said.
A new proposal replaces the current toilet retrofit program with a water conservation program and a rebate program for in-home fixtures and appliances. This proposal gives 100 percent of conserved water to developers.
The Santa Fe Watershed Association, the Sierra Club, and other organizations propose that 50 percent goes to the Santa Fe River. A 50 percent allocation to the river, said Dale Lyons, another city water resources coordinator, could perhaps add 7.5 acre feet of water per year to the river.
Wurzburger said the city attorney has advised against allocating percentages of water to avoid putting water rights at risk.
"Santa Fe has so many legal constraints that we lose sight of what's sensible from a physical water perspective," said Groenfeldt. Instead of "bending the river to meet our legal impediments, we need to change the laws to accommodate the river," he added.
With thoughtful and efficient management of this precious natural resource, we can keep the Santa Fe River alive and reuse its water in sustainable ways to serve and nourish our community now and in the generations to come. Run, river, run!