Corrales approves $2 million loan for water rights

CORRALES — Water connects us all, but who has a right to use it?

Corrales does, but the office of the New Mexico State Engineer and the village water resource specialist say changes are necessary, and the village took steps to obtain funds for water rights at its Nov. 18 council meeting.

Councilors approved an ordinance that authorizes them to enter into a loan agreement with New Mexico Economic Development Department to obtain $2 million plus 1% accrued interest for a possible water rights purchase.

According to the ordinance, the loan will be paid off via pledged revenues, which in this case is gross receipts tax.

But first the village council heard from professional engineer John Stomp and water resource specialist Brittany Guame for an update on the village’s water rights situation. The update succeeded a recent water rights audit, according to Stomp. The audit highlighted actions that needed to be addressed.

“Some of those actions included over diversions and noncompliance with the village water rights permits. We’ve been working with the state engineer ... When I say we, I mean Brittany’s been doing a great job talking with the state engineer’s office and the folks over there who have enforcement powers and have the ability to enforce against the village, but they’ve chosen not to do that because they want to work with the village to get all of these compliance issues taken care of,” he said.

He said the next step is to file a combine and comingle permit, which protects the existing water rights of the village, and that the village can’t afford to cover that cost of the over diversions without it. The permit would cover needs over the next 40 years, protecting rights from forfeiture and abandonment even if they’re not being used.

Guame explained more of what needed to be remedied in the view of the state engineer.

She shared that two wells in the village were not in the village’s name and were recently approved by the state engineer.

“So we had to file change of ownership forms for those. That includes the old church well and part of the field that’s next to the library,” she said.

The village also needed to file extensions of time on several rights, according to Guame.

“This is when you don’t meet a deadline that’s put into your permit or filing your proof of beneficial use report, showing that you’ve put your water rights to beneficial use. Typically this is for both proof of beneficial use, and it’s used to be for proof of completion of works, which is showing that the well had the capacity to pump the volume of water that its permit allowed it to pump,” she explained.

But, she said, the state engineer is no longer requiring proof of completion of works, and the state engineer was “very generous” in waiving those. She added that was a big savings for the village.

Another requirement is the state engineer district manager has to tour the village’s well meters with the fire chief and the public works director.

For the purposes of the fire suppression plan, Guame was allowed to do “alternative mapping” to make up for non-state-filed permit locations that would require a survey of the property.

She also presented a revised over diversion payback plan in which over diversions from the fire suppression wells could be paid by the under diversions in alternating years. She added that Bernalillo is willing to lease the village stored water rights.

“It’s to everyone’s benefits to make the river whole, so to speak, by paying back these water rights that were over used,” she said.

All over diversions will have been paid off in 2026, she stated.

The combine and comingle permit is meant to cover all water rights fixes.

The $2 million loan was approved by all present councilors, excluding Zach Burkett, who was unable to attend the meeting.