Albuquerque Journal

Funding provided for Pojoaque water system

Federal omnibus bill has enough money for first phase of Aamodt settlement pact

- BY ISABELLA ALVES

SANTA FE — There is now enough funding to complete the first phase of the Aamodt settlement agreement water infrastruc­ture in the Pojoaque Basin due to an additional $137 million in the federal omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Trump last month.

The key piece in the decades-long litigation over water rights in the area is the constructi­on of the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System. In addition to increased funding, the bill extended the “substantia­l’’ completion date of the project by four years to 2028.

When complete, the water system will provide clean drinking water to approximat­ely 10,000 people living on tribal and non-tribal land, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamatio­n.

Mary Carlson, a bureau spokeswoma­n, said as the project moved forward with design and constructi­on, it became evident there wasn’t enough money allocated to complete the water system.

She said the passage of the omnibus bill gave the bureau access to $137 million it can now spend. With the increase, she said there is enough funding to complete the first phase of the project, but additional funding will be needed for the second and third phases.

Despite the funding increase, local resident and retired geologist Mike Johnson said it’ll take more for residents to actually hook up to the water system.

He said he can see how the water system will benefit Santa Fe County and the pueblos, but not the people living in the valley.

Johnson said builders are going to have to install lines along county roads and arroyos, and that’s going to be expensive. Many people like to use their own wells and

don’t want to pay for “every gallon,” he said.

Santa Fe County Commission­er Henry Roybal said the county advocated for the funding increase. He said the county and the state weren’t able to help with the initial funding shortfall because the Aamodt case is a federal settlement.

Some of his constituen­ts are unable to drill wells, he said, and with the water system they’ll be able to access that water.

Roybal said he also has constituen­ts who are planning to keep their wells.

As time goes on, he said he hopes more people will be able to utilize the water system.

 ?? EDDIE MOORE/JOURNAL ?? Workers construct what will be the bottom of a collection well on San Ildefonso Pueblo that is part of the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System Project. Funding for the project was recently authorized in the federal omnibus spending bill.
EDDIE MOORE/JOURNAL Workers construct what will be the bottom of a collection well on San Ildefonso Pueblo that is part of the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System Project. Funding for the project was recently authorized in the federal omnibus spending bill.

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