Funding to help New Mexico’s acequias as drought persists

Some of the hand-built communal canals that have been funneling water to farmers and ranchers in New Mexico for centuries will be getting an infusion of more than $1 million as managers look to combat the effects of drought. Federal officials visited a northern New Mexican village on Thursday to tour what they described as the oldest acequia in the nation. They heard from locals about what it takes to keep the traditional irrigation canal flowing and how acequias around the state can be improved. Jason Weller, chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, said the idea is to make acequias more efficient so they can continue to deliver water to the communities that depend on them for raising livestock and growing crops. He said through previous engineering work, several acequias districts are ready to begin construction. The proposed work ranges from replacing diversion structures made of rocks and logs to installing pipelines along stretches of the canals that are too sandy to maintain. The earliest acequia dates to 1597. The structures were introduced to the region by Spanish settlers, and they’re still celebrated by those working to keep Hispanic and indigenous traditions alive...more