Santa Fe combines water conservation, recycling and beautification into new Conservation and Sustainability Division

Christine Chavez, the city’s water conservation manager, told the City Council on Oct. 8 that Santa Fe has combined its water conservation, sustainability and Keep Santa Fe Beautiful programs into a single Conservation and Sustainability Division, which staff will call CSD.

Chavez said the reorganization was a goal in the FY26 budget and was intended to reduce program silos and unify public messaging, education and enforcement across water conservation, recycling and beautification programs.

The reorganization, Chavez said, brings water conservation, sustainability and the Keep Santa Fe Beautiful program under one structure so the city can share marketing, K–12 outreach and enforcement tools. “Everything is consolidated onto 1 website,” Chavez said, describing unified branding that staff will use under the umbrella name “Sustainable Santa Fe.”

City staff told the council the new division will manage enforcement and compliance for the water conservation ordinance, the city’s bag fee tied to recycling, and the adopt‑a‑median program; coordinate data and performance scorecards; expand unified education and outreach; and integrate social‑equity goals across programs.

Chavez introduced staff members assigned to the new division, including communications manager Peter Olsen and water conservation specialists Patricio Pacheco, Robert Wood and Ramon Kuris. She also named Michelle Romero Babcock as program coordinator for Keep Santa Fe Beautiful and announced that Erica Renaud will join the city next week as the new sustainability coordinator.

Funding and programs

Chavez said CSD will operate using existing enterprise and grant funds: the water and environmental service enterprise funds, revenue from the water conservation fee paid annually by residents, the bag ordinance fee paid by vendors, the litter control and beautification grant and fundraising by the Keep Santa Fe Beautiful nonprofit. She also told the council about a $1,250,000 community energy efficiency development grant awarded earlier and noted staff will present an ordinance to accept that grant funding.

Chavez said the city will explore additional revenue streams, including marketing and recruitment work to help attract water and wastewater operators without hiring external consultants. She estimated initial funding will come from current budgets and grants and said staff will propose a formal BAR (budget amendment resolution) to move line items into the new division before it is fully operational.

Programs and community work

Chavez described several ongoing and recent initiatives: an integrated K–12 education program that will now include water conservation, recycling and litter‑prevention messages; a Keep Santa Fe Beautiful cleanup event on Sept. 20 that involved more than 2,000 volunteers (1,800 students and 260 community volunteers) and 15 schools; demonstration landscaping in the city’s 50 medians; and an emphasis on data‑driven targets and online scorecards for transparency.

Councilor questions and concerns

Councilors generally praised the move. Councilor Castro said, “I’m impressed with all the work,” and asked how councilors could help recruit staff. Councilor Cassett pressed on funding rules: she asked whether funds tied to a program (for example the bag fee or the water conservation fee) would remain dedicated to their original program. Chavez answered that staff intend to keep those revenue streams with the programs that originally supported them, while designing grants and fundraising so projects can align with division goals.

Councilors discussed trees and urban canopy work and asked how existing programs such as TreeSmart Santa Fe and municipal tree board work would be integrated. Chavez said staff are already coordinating with other departments and agencies on tree rebates, canopy goals and pilot programs and will continue to develop integrated programming.

Next steps

Chavez told the council the division will recruit to fill vacant positions (including a sustainability coordinator and an executive director for Keep Santa Fe Beautiful), prepare board appointments, and submit a BAR that consolidates existing budget elements into the new division. She also announced the division’s planned office at the Carlos Ortega Center and said a remodel is expected to start soon.

Why it matters

City leaders said the consolidation is designed to improve coordination across related programs, increase public transparency with data and scorecards, and make outreach and compliance more efficient. Councilors emphasized that the change was intended to produce more consistent messaging to residents and to help the city reach its water conservation and climate goals.

Provenance

Topic intro: “First 8 a, update on the conservation and sustainability division, and here to speak is water conservation manager Christine Chavez.”

Topic finish: “And so, I'll stand for questions.”