Transferring Water Footprints in Taos Will Keep Acequias Alive

Taos acequias are in jeopardy of drying up as water rights are purchased by developers from agricultural land that is no longer capable of being irrigated. To address this problem, the Taos Valley Acequia Association (TVAA) has been working on a plan to transfer water rights into a bank that can be used by local water associations. As part of this pilot project, TVAA needs to create a GIS map of all available footprints, which would allow agricultural users to access that water and keep the acequia system active. Funding from the LOR Foundation will be used to identify water rights ownership and contract with an engineering firm that can create a map of all available water footprints.