Pojoaque River

About the Pojoaque River

• The river's basin — home to the Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso and Tesuque — is the subject of the Aamodt case, filed in 1966 to adjudicate every water right in the Pojoaque Basin Stream System and described by Santa Fe County as the oldest federal court case in the United States; a final decree was issued in 2017.1
• The 2013 Aamodt settlement, capping four decades of litigation, is now being carried out through the Bureau of Reclamation's Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System, which is being built to deliver Rio Grande water to the four Pueblos and Santa Fe County rather than relying on basin groundwater.23

This report follows 22 miles (35 km) of the Pojoaque River, all within the Upper Rio Grande watershed segment. At the lower end of the report the river drains about 194 square miles. Downstream of the mapped reach it flows into the Rio Grande. Named tributaries joining it here include the Rio Tesuque. 1 gauge with at least 26 weeks of daily flow cover 1936 to 2026.

From the archive: NHDPlus river network, WBD watersheds, NHD waterbodies, TIGER urban areas and the report's gauges.

From the headwaters down

Each watershed segment in order, with last week's flow rated against the same week in 1991–2020.

1. 1

   Segment 1: Upper Rio Grande

   No data last week.

   23 acequias along this reach, including Acequia Ancon De Jacona, Acequia Barranca, Acequia Barrance Blanco, Acequia Barranco Alto.

   Median conductance 136 µS/cm in the 2020s. Rain over the last 3 months: 174% of normal.

Culture

• The Pueblo of Pojoaque's Tewa name, P'o-suwae-geh Owingeh, means 'Water Drinking Place Village.'4
• The Poeh Cultural Center and Museum at Pueblo of Pojoaque preserves and shares Pueblo art, history and culture, alongside youth hoop-dancing and Tewa language programs.4
• According to Santa Fe County, the Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso and Tesuque hold the most senior water rights in the Pojoaque Basin because their first use of its water came before recorded history; the Aamodt Settlement Agreement identifies, describes and limits those rights.1

Acequias

• Acequia Ancon De Jacona
• Acequia Barranca
• Acequia Barrance Blanco
• Acequia Barranco Alto
• Acequia De Juan Vigil
• Acequia De La Otra Banda
• Acequia de la Otra Banda (Best) (Santa Fe County)5
• Acequia De Los Indios
• Acequia De Los Joyas
• Acequia Del Alamo
• Acequia Del Alto Ditch No 7
• Acequia Del Liano
• Acequia Del Liano De Los Gardunio
• Acequia Del Medio
• Acequia Del Medio De Chupadero
• Acequia Del Molino
• Acequia Del Montoya
• Acequia Del Ojito
• Acequia Del Rio
• Acequia En Medio
• Acequia La Nueva
• Acequia La Nueva Lateral # 2-A
• Acequia Larga De Jacona
• Acequia Otra Vanda

From the State Engineer's acequia map, which covers mainly northern New Mexico, and cited records of acequia governance. Within 1.5 km of the river.

Reservoirs

No reservoir with 500 acre-feet or more of storage on this river in the National Inventory of Dams.

Water users

• The Aamodt case, filed in 1966 to adjudicate every water right in the Pojoaque Basin Stream System, produced a final decree in 2017 covering both the four Pueblos and non-Pueblo water users in the basin.1
• The Bureau of Reclamation's Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System, authorized by the 2010 Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act, diverts Rio Grande water to serve about 10,000 people among the four Pueblos and Santa Fe County, delivering up to 4,000 acre-feet a year to reduce reliance on the basin's groundwater.2
• Construction of the regional water system began in 2020, with completion now targeted for 2028 under a revised cost-sharing agreement the settlement parties reached in 2019.2

Surface water withdrawn, 2020

In the counties this river crosses (Santa Fe): 13,532 acre-feet. County totals include other streams.

State Engineer, New Mexico Water Use by Categories 2020.

Irrigation districts and acequias

• 24 acequias, community-run irrigation ditches (listed under Culture)

State Engineer's irrigation districts and acequia layers.

Public water systems beside the river

Vista Redonda MDWCA, Chupadero MDWCA, Rio En Medio MDWCA, Pojoaque Terraces Mobile Home Park, Cielo Lindo, El Rancho Mobile Home Park Santa Fe

State Engineer's public water systems layer (service areas within 2 km).