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Santa Fe details water supply, San Juan Chama return‑flow plan and Nichols Dam rehab; officials flag rate increase
Summary
Interim Public Utilities Director Jesse Roach told the Santa Fe City Council on May 14 that the city is using about 9,000 acre‑feet of water per year, has shifted from mining groundwater to surface water since 2011, and is pursuing a San Juan‑Chama return‑flow project and Nichols Dam outlet rehabilitation that together will increase resiliency but require new borrowing and likely rate increases.
Interim Public Utilities Director Jesse Roach outlined the City of Santa Fe’s 2024 water-year results and near‑term projects on May 14, telling the City Council that the utility is using roughly 9,000 acre‑feet of water annually and is pursuing a return‑flow project and major dam‑outlet repairs that together will require new borrowing and likely rate adjustments.
Roach opened the presentation by tracing the city’s water portfolio and conservation success, saying the city’s total production has declined “by 33% even while population during that time has increased by 25%,” and noting the utility now serves about 90,000 people while per‑person use has fallen substantially. He said surface water now supplies the bulk of the city’s needs since the Buckman direct diversion (BDD) came online in February 2011 and that the utility is “using about 9,000 acre feet per year, about 7,000 of that from river water and the rest from wells.”
Roach described the San Juan‑Chama return‑flow project as a…
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