EBTAG Annual Workshop and Field Trip
May 20-21, 2013

Santa Fe County, 102 Grant Ave, Santa Fe, NM, 87504, aleigland@santafecounty.org

Rural water systems across New Mexico (of which mutual domestic water consumer associations are the best known but by no means only example) are under increasing threat from a variety of sources.  Water supplies are dwindling; requirements for regulatory compliance and technical and financial management are growing more stringent; financial resources are on the wane; and demographic trends are straining governance.  Meanwhile, Santa Fe County takes water seriously, and has numerous plans to guide its action in that arena, including the Conjunctive Management Plan and a chapter in the Sustainable Growth Management Plan.  Unfortunately, plans, no matter how well-crafted, often languish for lack of linkage to implementation programs.  Santa Fe County has over 35 rural water systems within its boundaries, and the Board of County Commissioners has recently adopted a policy that, in addition to meeting County goals as articulated in the aforementioned plans, represents an example of linking planning to execution, and attempts to address the threats to rural water systems.  This policy was the result of extensive (but now always amicable) public involvement, and has the support of the Rural Water Association, the Office of the State Engineer, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation, and the New Mexico Environment Department.  The policy addresses the challenges of planning in a diverse region with numerous stakeholders competing for limited resources.