PermacultureinPractice
The City Different is also redundant Redundancy is often a good practice to avoid. When writing a newspaper column, rarely is it appropriate to repeat words, phrases, concepts, and ideas over and over and over and over again. Here, redundancy is a waste of time. Redundancy is also essential for survival. Two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two kidneys, two lungs, this is a pattern worth recognizing. Many of our essential functions are supported by more than one component so that if we lose an ear, we can still hear, and we can continue to survive and sustain our species. The essential function of water delivery to a home is an often-used illustration of the good kind of redundancy. Instead of being fully dependent on one well, it’s great to have a cistern collecting precipitation from the roof, or a full-blown swale system at the end of a long driveway. Add thickly mulched garden beds that prevent evaporation and store water in the soil, and your essential function of water
procurement is even better protected. Let’s also not forget greywater reuse in the landscape and on-site blackwater treatment. These commodities are almost always seen as waste products, but they are actually great resources. Of course, a connection to a community-wide utility is always a major plus, especially if that system has built–in redundancies. If that’s not enough to make you feel comfortable about your water supply, in New Mexico you can even purchase land with associated rights to a centuriesold acequia system. Just make sure you’re not down arroyo from an ancient pueblo’s golf course. A web-based news service, www.247Wallst.com, just listed Santa Fe as one of many that are running out of water, but the City Different actually has many levels of water redundancy. It has two reservoirs, several large wells, and the Buckman diversion project (which draws from two far-away watersheds). In addi-
tion, in the event of a water emergency, smaller wells scattered throughout town (tapping a wide variety of mini aquifers) could be what gets us through during times of need. But that’s not all. We also have a strong and growing cistern-system industry and a statewide greywater recycling law that has proved to be problem-free since its inception a decade ago. Our newfound excitement for curb cuts that direct stormwater to trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and wildflowers is also a positive contribution when it comes to our most essential resource. On top of all of this, the city has a deeply committed water-conservation committee and professional staff working on many ways to save water. Finally, and perhaps most important, is that our population is generally very conscious about the need to respect water on many levels. If you would like to explore some of these levels more deeply, please join
N ATE D O WN EY
me and Rev. Gail Mariner at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 107 W. Barcelona Road, on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. for a spiritual exploration of water as a force not only of life, but of light as well. Nate Downey is the author of Harvest the Rain (2010) and Roof-Reliant Landscaping (2008). He started Santa Fe Permaculture, Inc., in 1992 and can be reached for landscape consultation, design, and installation via a new website, www. permadesign.com
OurwaterQuality
One of our sources: the Colorado River Santa Fe Mayor David Coss was recently quoted as stating that water demand exceeds supply. He was referring to the highly oversubscribed Colorado River, which supplies water to Santa Fe via the San Juan-Chama Project. Eleven percent of New Mexico’s water supply comes from the Upper Colorado River Basin. The imbalance of supply and demand and the competition for Colorado River water are detailed in the recent Bureau of Reclamation report, Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study. Though not an uplifting read, you can find it at www. usbr.gov/lc/region/programs/crbstudy/ finalreport/studyrpt.html. The San Juan-Chama Project captures water from three tributaries of the San Juan River, itself a tributary of the Colorado River. This water flows through a tunnel under the Continental Divide into Heron Reservoir, where contract water is released to the Chama River, conveyed to El Vado Reservoir, then Abiquiú Reservoir, and then the Rio Grande. Santa Fe’s 52
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portion is diverted, along with native Rio Grande water, at the City of Santa Fe/ Santa Fe County Buckman Direct Diversion (BDD) facility. Planning for the San Juan-Chama Project started in the 1930s. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, owner/operator of the project, began exporting San Juan River water in 1971. The original, single 40year contract among the city, county and Public Service Company of New Mexico (which then owned the city water system) was signed in 1976 and replaced by two permanent contracts in 2006. The city and county San Juan-Chama Project contracts are for 5,230 and 375 acre-feet per year, respectively. San Juan-Chama Project water is administered differently than native Rio Grande water by the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (OSE). San Juan-Chama Project water constitutes about half the water supply for Santa Fe (current Santa Fe usage is about 10,000 acre-feet per year, or afy) and about two thirds of the BDD supply, which is limited
by permits to 8,730 afy. The breakdown of the BDD annual capacity is as follows: up to 5,230 afy to the city (consisting of its entire San Juan-Chama Project contract allotment), up to 1,700 afy to the county (including its 375 afy San Juan-Chama allotment) and up to 1,800 afy to Las Campanas. The additional legal rights held by Santa Fe County and Las Campanas include native water rights or other San Juan-Chama Project water. Our Upper Colorado River Basin source is not without significant risk. Diversions of water into Heron Reservoir are dependent on the snowpack south of Wolf Creek Pass. San Juan-Chama Project shortages have not occurred to date, but any future shortages will be shared pro rata by reduced allotments for all contractees. Contracted water is released only under specific orders and significant transfer losses occur as the water moves down the Chama. Diversions along the Rio Grande may be reduced or curtailed on the basis of low flow rates measured at
STEPH EN WIMA N
the USGS real-time stream gage at Otowi Bridge, three miles upstream from BDD. And diversion at the BDD may be halted when water clarity is low (high turbidity conditions), or when the ash content (from runoff across burned areas) is high. Stephen Wiman has a background in earth science (Ph.D. in geology) and is the owner of Good Water Company and a member of the City of Santa Fe’s Water Conservation Committee. He may be reached at 505-471-9036 and skwiman@ goodwatercompany.com.