Santa Fe County Presents Water Plan Update, City Watershed Thinned
by John Weckerle
On September 29, 2009, Karen Torres of Santa Fe County presented the latest information on the plan for a backup for the Buckman water diversion to serve County residents in the Santa Fe vicinity. Ms. Torres outlined the County’s strategy for identifying potential locations for backup wells, including soil/rock type (primarily interested in the Tesuque Formation as well as Precambrian granite and Permian limestone), groundwater chemistry, distance to existing water lines, pressure zones, proximity to springs, distance to aquifer decline areas, slope, and proximity to springs/sumps, among others. Ms. Torres indicated that the County was looking for sources near Santa Fe and was not considering sources in the Estancia Basin, indicating that the County is “not doing to badly on supply in our own area.” Only two local residents attended the Edgewood meeting.
In related news: Many of us saw smoke rising to the more-or-less north recently. This was the result of an open-burn project aimed at thinning the Santa Fe Watershed, which provides about 40% of the city’s water supply. The burn was completed successfully, and we hope that Santa Fe benefits from the project.