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We are planning a move for my husbands work soon. He is going to be working with the lab in Los Alamos, but we don't especially want to live there. We absolutely love Santa Fe and the areas outside of the city, but aren't sure how long a commute he can easily make. Currently we especially like Tesuque and Nambe because of the rural feel and proximity to Los Alamos. My biggest concern is water. It seems that the city of Santa Fe itself is going to be fine because of long term planning, but what about these smaller communities? I know that Nambe has had some recent legislation regarding water but I'm rather confused by the terms.
Anyone understand this ? Do basically the first rights go to the Pueblo? Sigh. What about Tesuque?
What about the areas in the county like Tano road? It looks lovely and quite easy for a commute, but I wonder about the long term water availability. Las Campanas looks nice, but we're not golfers or country club types and I'd much rather have no HOA in general.
Oh, and nothing against Los Alamos, but I'm a piano teacher, and now a nutritionist and herbalist in private practice. We would rather be in a more 'progressive ' cimate regarding the arts, music, and health care.
He is going to be working with the lab in Los Alamos, but we don't especially want to live there. We absolutely love Santa Fe and the areas outside of the city, but aren't sure how long a commute he can easily make.
Hi Poncho,
Great suggestion, just looked through those pages. Still have the water issues to address. We are buying a home and can afford Tesuque , Pojoaque , Nambe, and other areas. just want to be sure it's a good investment.
Ha! I suppose that's a hard question to answer!
The Pojoaque Basin Water settlement is probably the legal/legislative deal you mention. In essence, this agreement settles decades of water disputes between the four southern Tewa pueblos (San Ildefonso, Pojoaque, Nambe, and Tesuque) and the feds by obligating the federal government (technically, the Bureau of Reclamation) to construct a huge distribution system that takes water from the Rio Grande, treats it, and then delivers it to those four pueblos and most of the other Anglo and Hispanic communities of the Pojoaque Basin between San I and Tesuque Village (the artist community, not the pueblo).
The pueblos will indeed have precedence over this water - they do anyway based on their water rights, and the whole motivation behind the project is their long-standing lawsuits against the government for previous water takings. But the project is designed to supply potable water to Pueblo and non-Pueblo communities alike: there will be storage tanks everywhere, with the southernmost ones on the hills just above Shidoni and the Bishop's Lodge. The goal is to take the whole Pojoaque Basin from its current dependence on wells and groundwater and replace that with drinking water, at least, drawn from the river. This will in theory allow groundwater reserves to recharge and provide more options for water supply moving forward.
I'm not sure how the legalities of water allocations from the Rio Grande will work, exactly, since water will be siphoned at a point when the river is also legally obligated to carry San Juan/Chama reserves for Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Suffice to say, though, that the act of Congress creating the project lays them all out and state and federal water managers are probably obligated to deliver a certain amount at all costs. In this case the presence of the Pueblos is probably a good thing since their rights have precedence and the powers that be may be required to supply them before providing water to other users. That's probably good for other folks on the Pojoaque system as well.
As for long-term water security, Albuquerque and Santa Fe have both decided in recent years that river water is a better and more reliable resource for long-term use than groundwater so the logic behind the Pojoaque Basin settlement is also guiding water planning for two of the state's four largest urban areas and roughly half its population. I would think if it makes sense for them, it also makes sense for the Basin. Also, of course, it's not like groundwater reserves or pumping rights are going away so there's always a fallback in the event of any issues with the river. Albuquerque started integrating river water into its municipal water supply back in 2008 and groundwater levels have risen considerably since then. So overall the project is a net positive. You'll still have the same long-term anxieties about water that everyone else in the Southwest does, but the Pojoaque Basin, at least, will be much better situated than it is now. Personally, I'd rather worry about potential long-term water shortages than live somewhere where sudden, devastating earthquakes and tsunamis are a concern.
^^^ditto bout the Aamodt settlement. I really don't know the details, but have a coworker who lives in Tesuque just a bit north of the village area. She told me that, in a nutshell, eventually they'll have to close their well and get on whatever municipal water system is created and run out to them. I have no idea what costs may be borne by the individual homeowners. For instance, will the water utility bring a line to the road, with the homeowner responsible for tapping in to the line? I really don't know.
Keep in mind that by "eventually", their understanding is it could take 10+ years to effect them.
All that being said, there are some lovely homes in the areas where you're looking.
I do know that the El Rancho area (Santa Fe County) is also caught in a seemingly deadlocked issue with San Ildefonso regarding road ownership and access -- you'll want to look into that further if you look in that area.
We have looked in the Tano Road area and there are some nice places out there. The central area out there has an association that has a website with some info about their water system, about gas lines coming in, etc.
Oh thanks SO much for this clarification on water issues in those northern pueblo areas. We really love Tesuque and Pojoaque and have our eye on a house in Nambe. The commute from Nambe to Los Alamos would be pretty painless, but that still leaves me out in the 'boonies' for the most part. We actually own property in Llano Largo, outside of Penasco, which we've had for 10 years now. Thankfully that has provided us with a hardcore education on living in northern NM. I consider the Santa Fe area to be a highly 'civilized' place to live in comparison. I've encountered drug deals in the national forest for instance. Does not dissuade me .
In purchasing property in Nambe, Tesuque,etc. I suppose it then makes sense to consider the future cost of hooking up to city water. $8,000 sounds about right, but one would need to translate this into future dollars. I think I read that the residents of Nambe would have a choice to hook up to county water or stay on wells. What happens to those with water rights then ? Curious about that.
I'm not fond of the El Rancho area, mostly because it would take forever to drive in and out of the neighborhood every day. There seem to be nice homes mixed in with crummy stuff...all typical NM, but we've already got that going in Llano Largo. We're looking for less density.
Thanks to all for your help with this!!! More info is welcome .
Keep in mind that by "eventually", their understanding is it could take 10+ years to effect them. .
That's absolutely true, but they're fast-tracking it as much as the federal government in negotiation with four independent pueblos can manage. The pueblos all want it done as quickly as possible since it dramatically shores up their water security and are doing whatever they can to move things along speedily- those with any long-term experience in the politics of rural northern New Mexico can probably appreciate how unusual that is. The Bureau of Reclamation is also desperate to get it done quickly...there is an expiration date written into the legislation and if it isn't met it certainly seems like heads will roll.
That said, "fast" is relative. The Environmental Impact Statement for the project isn't scheduled to be done before 2017 and no construction can start until then. A design-build contractor hasn't even been selected yet. The legislation stipulates a completion date of 2024, and that'll be very, very tight.
The commute to Los Alamos from Santa Fe might be brutal. I know a guy who does it, and he complains about it a lot.
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