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Looks like the water rights issue isn't going away anytime soon. I assume this mostly affects folks who plan to subdivide large parcels into smaller lots, doesn't it? But the article mentions a troubling item-is the automatic approval process of domestic well approval scrapped now in favor of senior water rights? Any thoughts? Thanks!
Looks like the water rights issue isn't going away anytime soon. I assume this mostly affects folks who plan to subdivide large parcels into smaller lots, doesn't it? But the article mentions a troubling item-is the automatic approval process of domestic well approval scrapped now in favor of senior water rights? Any thoughts? Thanks!
The conflict between the state Constitution and state statute especially creates a problem in basins called closed, such as the Hondo Basin in Lincoln County and the Lower Rio Grande Basin that includes Doña Ana County, where no new water rights can be appropriated.
When I started researching before I left Texas, I decided that I would go for areas that had community water sources rather than relying on a well. It is things like this (as well as watching private wells dry up in West Texas) that make me avoid both wells and septic systems. There are new rules regarding those, too.
The Bounds decision has been appealed, and this issue will now be left up to the Appellate/Supreme Courts unless the legislature decides to step in.
This is not new issue, and even though domestic wells have largely been unregulated, that is not completely true. For instance, in the Nambe-Pojoaque Tesuque Basin, domestic wells were limited to indoor use in 1983. In the Tularosa Basin, domestic wells are limited to 0.5 acre-feet and metering is required. In the City of Santa Fe, domestic wells are now limited to 0.25 acre-feet.
The article you presented deals with subdivisions, which are a particularly difficult issue. New Mexico has a limited amount of water, and suffers from frequent and prolonged droughts. We cannot afford to promote willy nilly development of subdivisions with golf courses. The solution might be to give the State Engineer discretion on domestic wells, which would mean changing the domestic well statute so that the State Engineer could review a domestic well application, especially in circumstances where the proposed drilling might be in a critical management area.
Furthermore, regarding subdivisions, a good solution would be to allow each county to adopt their own subdivision regulations as to domestic wells, and approval would be based on each county's water availability. Of course, leaving our state's future in the hands of county commissioners may be like giving the keys to the liquor cabinet to an alcoholic.
There are no easy solutions, but it is clear that the entire state must become very careful regarding overdevelopment, and ensure that our present infrastructure and citizens receive enough water before we consider more subdivisions.
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