seeking secure water in your hometown how to promote water sustainability with the power of...

Seeking Secure Water in your hometown

How to promote water sustainability with the power of persuasion, politics, and law

By River Source, January 2011

by River Source www.riversource.net

Where does you water come from & where does it go

The SUPPLY • Groundwater• Surface water

The WASTEWATER• Septic tanks• Wastewater

treatment plans


Groundwater drilling and pumping

Has not been regulated in New Mexico – but is getting more attention now


Subsurface Water Flow• Local geology may have high hydraulic conductivity (the

ease with which soil can transmit water)– sands and gravels have a higher ability to move water

than clay because sands and gravels are more porous.


Threats (continued)

2. Non-point source pollution - pollution caused by rainfall moving over and through the ground, picking up natural and man made pollutants depositing them into our coastal and ground waters.

Examples: Storm water, poorly managed livestock grazing, fertilizers.


Threats (continued)

3. Industrial/private sector development of land and water unsustainably

Energy production causes water pollution through airborne deposition

West Mesa development demands that water be taken out of agriculture, water that may not actually exist in dry years.


Air pollution from four corners power plant affects NM water


Sprawl that follows few natural patterns


Threats (continued)

4. Commodification of water - Turning water into something that can be bought, sold, or traded rather than water being a public good whose benefits get consumed by all regardless of ability to pay.

Non-market values (ceremonial uses of water or public health, for example), don’t get represented well in market decisions.


Water Law– What are the rules?The Clean Water Act

1. Set water quality standards to define clean vs. dirty water;2. Monitor the quality of water to ensure standards are met; 3. Require a permit specifying the type and amount of the

pollutant(s) from point source polluters (factories & waste water treatment plants);

4. Build sewage treatment plants to eliminate the discharge of raw sewage into water bodies; and

5. Develop plans to control pollution from sources that are spread widely or are hard to pinpoint (non-point source pollution).


Clean Water Act Key Elements

Water Quality Standards– Designated Uses: how water is

used– Water Quality Criteria: chemical,

biological, and physical conditions necessary to protect designated uses

– Antidegradation Policy: Policy to prevent high quality waters from polluted unless there is social or economic justification. San Juan River, Northwestern NM.


Tribes may get “Treatment as a State”

• Sovereignty – Tribes, like the state of New Mexico, can have own water quality programs. Examples include Taos, Picuris, Sandia and other pueblos. Tribal standards can exceed federal & state standards.

• Impact on protecting water quality can be huge. Isleta and Sandia Pueblo have fought for and secured improvements in wastewater treatment from big cities and industries.


Laws for Water Supply

• Prior Appropriation in New Mexico – First come, first served– Use it (for beneficial use) or Lose It– Diversion and record keeping

requirements

• Priority dates and making a priority call- Senior water right holders have priority- Junior water must reduce use first


Tribes Assert Oldest Rights• Tribes and farmers have the

best Paper, but weakest Wet water rights

• It’s more complex today to build water infrastructure than what people had to face in the past (i.e., Endangered Species Act)

• Oldest rights get threatened by unregulated development of groundwater wells.


Turning Paper Water Rights into Wet Water

Do you go to Court or Settle?

• Adjudicate (go to court) = have a judge decide how much water each person gets and determine the priority date. May require lengthy hearings of evidence and significant legal cost.

• Settle = water rights holders write their own rules for sharing water rather than paying for lawyers to make case and waiting for court judgement.


Who is involved in Water Quantity Rules?

• Federal government Holder of tribal “Reserved” water rightsBureau of Reclamation & Army Corps of

Engineers build dikes, maintain canals

• Tribal governments Governor’s office & Environment Departments

• State GovernmentOffice of the State Engineer (headed by John

D’Antonio)


Who is involved in Water Quantity

• Acequia associations: Middle Rio Grande Conservation District and defunct by reviving acequias

• Local governments• Us people: How we pay for,

use water, recycle or dispose of wastewater

• Regional water councils, watershed groups, non-profits


Who is involved in making Water Quality Rules?

Federal government: President’s Council on Environmental QualityEnvironment Protection Agency

Tribes: Governor’s office & Environment Departments

State government: Governor RichardsonNew Mexico Environment Department (Surface Water Quality Bureau headed by Marcy LeavittWater Quality Control CommissionNew Mexico State Legislature


Who is involved in Water Quality (continued)

Local governments:Land use regulationStormwater managementMunicipal waste water management

Large landowners, industries & other individuals

Us people : How we buy, use, and dispose of materials, land and water

Multi-party groups: Regional water councils, watershed groups, non-profits


2011 Legislation – Water Issues

This Year’s Legislature may focus on water-related issues such as:

• Amendments of the Water Quality Act• Development of the Gila River• Oil and Gas Accountability Program• HB 40 Clarification on mine reclamation jurisdiction


What you can do?

• Know where your water comes from and where is gets disposed.

• Use the law to protect special places and water sources.

• Build a shared vision for a secure water future and the capacity to obtain it.

• Go to the state legislature to protect water quality and quantity.


Common Water Issues Across the Globe

Who owns water? Should anyone? Should it be privatized?

Some Basic Water Principles and Policies1. Water belongs to the earth and all its species. 2. Water should be left where it is wherever possible. 3. Water is best protected in natural watersheds. 4. An adequate supply of clean water is a basic human right.

Principles from Blue Gold: The Global Water Crisis and the Commodification of the World’s Water Supply by Maude Barlow (1999)

seeking secure water in your hometown how to promote water sustainability with the power of...

Documents

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san juan river