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Santa Fe staff outline long-term water-supply plan and San Juan–Chama reuse project
Summary
City staff told the Planning Commission that the water division is advancing a 5–year plan that models reduced future flows, studies reuse options including the San Juan–Chama Return Project, and will run 9–12 months of updated hydrology work with the Bureau of Reclamation.
Santa Fe water staff briefed the Planning Commission on Feb. 6, 2025, on a multi-year effort to align long-term water supply with land-use planning and climate projections. The presentation, given by a water division presenter standing in for Jesse Roach, Water Division Director, described ongoing modeling, community engagement and a proposed reuse project that would return treated San Juan–Chama water to the Buckman Direct Diversion intake under an indirect potable reuse approach.
The overview explained why the city is planning beyond short-term conservation: the presentation said hydrologic projections used in prior basin studies show possible flow declines by midcentury and that Santa Fe’s system has shifted since the 1950s from reliance on the Santa Fe River and unregulated well pumping to an integrated portfolio that includes Buckman Direct Diversion and deeper well fields. The presenter said conservation and reuse programs helped city demand fall about 25% even as population grew roughly 30% over several decades.
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