Los Lunas approves more water for Niagara
LOS LUNAS — Tension and attendance were high at a Los Lunas Village Council meeting earlier this month, during which an amended agreement with Niagara Bottling to significantly increase its water use was approved on a 3-2 vote.
Niagara’s request for expansion had been brought before the Los Lunas council multiple times the past few years, but a decision was not reached until recently. The decision was met with remarks of anger and disappointment from several attendees at the most recent meeting.
This decision follows years of outspoken opposition from many Los Lunas residents and community members from neighboring provinces. The aquifer Niagara pumps from serves all of Valencia County and many surrounding areas.
Leaders from the Pueblo of Isleta, Peralta and Bosque Farms expressed concern to the Los Lunas council on multiple occasions about how the decision would affect their communities.
Niagara, a water bottling company, recently requested access of up to 782 acre-feet per year versus the 700 AFY they requested in 2022 and the 650 AFY in 2021.
Concerns were raised by local water watchdog group Valencia Water Watchers members at a Dec. 7 meeting. The group argued the aquifer data the council was relying on for the request was insufficient. The item was then tabled so Dr. Lee Wilson, a hydrologist who consults the council, could provide additional information on the health of the aquifer.
“The aquifer is healthy. It has the potential to last for decades, even centuries if it’s properly regulated by the state engineer, which is what’s happening right now,” Wilson told councilors at the recent meeting.
Wilson said the recharge rate of the aquifer is “way lower” than the amount being pumped, but there’s over 1,000 feet of it, so there is not yet a problem.
Wilson also admitted he has his own concerns about Niagara’s total water use, given what benefit it has to the village, and “the many issues” they’ve had in not complying with the current agreement.
For the last several years, members of Valencia Water Watchers such as Kathy McCord have protested and spoken out about proposals they feel endanger the water quality and supply in the region, including Niagara’s request to increase consumption.
At a meeting late last year, Los Lunas officials said Niagara is consistently exceeding the amount of water use agreed upon in the current contract, and there have only been one or two months where they have not gone over what they were allocated.
Larry Guggino, the village’s attorney, said the permit that was approved by the state engineer allowed Niagara 285 AFY of consumptive use. However, they are diverting 340 AFY.
Guggino said Niagara, according to its data, is returning 129.72 AFY. The credit brings their total consumptive use within their allotted range.
Guggino said there is no shut-off requirement in the current agreement for over diversion. Instead, the current contract requires Niagara to pay surcharges for the amounts they go over, which is then used by the village to buy additional water rights.
Guggino said Niagara paid all the required surcharges for the amount they exceeded.
“They have legally followed the obligation they set up for,” said councilor James Runyon. “And I haven’t got an agenda here. We’re vilifying them when it sounds like it was the agreement that was poor in the first place.”
Todd Uhlick, Niagara’s vice president of expansion and real estate, said “there’s never been a policy to enforce (overages) that we’re incurring.”
“I do want to add that (Guggino) has put significant teeth in the (amended) agreement, such that if we were to go over the target amounts, there are significant penalties,” said Uhlick. “It’s our intention to make you proud of us and honor the agreement.”
Councilor Christopher Ortiz asked the Niagara representatives why their original request for 650 AFY has now increased to 782.
“The real world number is honestly probably closer to 650,” said Khristopher Ward, director of real estate expansion for Niagara. “But in order to comply with the water balance, you asked us to supply peak day, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
“We don’t believe that we’re going to hit (782),” Ward continued. “In the summer, peak production may have days where you hit 100 percent, a near perfect production day, but that’s not attainable year round.”
Councilors Gino Romero and Cruz Munoz voted to deny Niagara’s request. Councilors Ortiz and Runyon voted in favor of the company, which led to Los Lunas mayor Charles Griego’s tie-breaking vote.
In a statement released by VWW, the group thanked the community for “showing up and standing up to Niagara.”
“The fight is not over,” the group said in the statement. “VWW intends to explore multiple avenues of opposition that include, but are not limited to: continued protest, demonstration, outreach and community education.”
In a statement posted on his public Facebook page, Councilor Romero said, “I tried everything I could think of to deny the water expansion request and for the first time in nine years, I am embarrassed to be associated with the Village of Los Lunas Council.”
In his statement, Peralta mayor Bryan Olguin thanked councilman Munoz and commended councilman Romero for “presenting a great defense on why Niagara’s outrageous request should not be approved.
“Not once did I hear the importance of approving this request,” said Olguin. “Most often a municipality will seek to increase (gross receipts taxes) for public safety, infrastructure or other needs of the community, … all I heard was the amount of revenue into the Los Lunas bank account.”