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Thought it is odd that the mighty Rio Grande, which I can see from here, is always dry south of Albuquerque. The riverbed is filled with 4 wheelers and beer drinkers all weekend long, and the whole riverbed is a mess of tire tracks and debris. People even go to the middle of the dry river with grills and chairs and have a cookout, which actually seems like fun. Wandered up north to check this out, following the river until I came across the big dam on the Isleta Pueblo, which holds all the water and fish back from getting past it. There is plenty of water there, everything is full, all the irrigation ditches are flowing, the land is green, all is good. Is it legal for the Pueblo to hold back all the water??? Yes, I know that they are technically their own "nation", but I always thought there might be be some federal laws that overule this and prevent all the water from being stopped. The dam, fyi, is reached from the Isleta Pueblo exit south of Rt 47 exit off of Rt 25. What do you think???
I think it is likely that the pueblo has water rights to the water they are diverting. As a matter of fact, I would bet on it and I don't gamble.
It has been well-publicized that the river is going to be dry in a lot of places this year due to low water flow.
Some chile fields South of here are going unplanted due to this situation.
The historical record shows that there are many cycles of drought that last many years.
Whole civilizations have shriveled-up and died because of it - possibly due to other periods
of global warming, but not confirmed.
In the future, this will have interesting ramifications for Albuquerque.
Thought it is odd that the mighty Rio Grande, which I can see from here, is always dry south of Albuquerque. The riverbed is filled with 4 wheelers and beer drinkers all weekend long, and the whole riverbed is a mess of tire tracks and debris. People even go to the middle of the dry river with grills and chairs and have a cookout, which actually seems like fun. Wandered up north to check this out, following the river until I came across the big dam on the Isleta Pueblo, which holds all the water and fish back from getting past it. There is plenty of water there, everything is full, all the irrigation ditches are flowing, the land is green, all is good. Is it legal for the Pueblo to hold back all the water??? Yes, I know that they are technically their own "nation", but I always thought there might be be some federal laws that overule this and prevent all the water from being stopped. The dam, fyi, is reached from the Isleta Pueblo exit south of Rt 47 exit off of Rt 25. What do you think???
That dam at Isleta services all of Valencia County's irrigation/flood control needs. It's run by the US Dept of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District) not the Pueblo.
Perhaps a wee bit of research might address your "concern?"
That dam at Isleta ... Perhaps a wee bit of research might address your "concern?"
Doesn't posting to c-d count? I didn't know that stuff either and I'll bet lots of others didn't either.
Now we all do thanks to your depth of knowledge.
The only thing I really know is that someone or some entity can't just drill or tap a flowing
water source without rights to that water. It's possible to have water flowing across your
property or under it and not have any rights to it.
In some cases, it's not even your right to capture the rain that falls on your house.
Western Water Law is based on the old Spanish law developed in an arid climate. The basic principal is "Prior Appropriation", meaning the first claim counts most, and the water can be seperated from the land ownership. Then it gets really complicated. For more information you should contact the NM state engineer's office. IIRC they regulate water use in NM.
Not really. Mainly because the OP stated that Isleta was keeping water from releasing into the river blow their pueblo and just wanted to know if that action was legal (see below):
Quote:
Originally Posted by CountryCarr
Wandered up north to check this out, following the river until I came across the big dam on the Isleta Pueblo, which holds all the water and fish back from getting past it. There is plenty of water there, everything is full, all the irrigation ditches are flowing, the land is green, all is good. Is it legal for the Pueblo to hold back all the water??? Yes, I know that they are technically their own "nation", but I always thought there might be be some federal laws that overule this and prevent all the water from being stopped. The dam, fyi, is reached from the Isleta Pueblo exit south of Rt 47 exit off of Rt 25. What do you think???
Quote:
Originally Posted by mortimer
I didn't know that stuff either and I'll bet lots of others didn't either.
Now we all do thanks to your depth of knowledge.
That dam at Isleta services all of Valencia County's irrigation/flood control needs. It's run by the US Dept of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District) not the Pueblo.
Irrigation is the operative word. The water is used for agriculture.
The drinking water comes from underground acquifers, that are diminishing due to excessive water use and increased population.
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