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Corrales Village launches cleanup of water-rights portfolio and pursues 40-year plan, possible water purchase
Summary
A multi-member water team told the village council the municipality must remediate decades of permitting gaps, repay about 60 acre-feet of over-diversion and file a combined municipal permit; officials said a comprehensive 40-year water plan and possible purchase of ~230 acre-feet are next steps.
A multi-disciplinary water team told the Corrales Village council that the village must fix long-standing permit and reporting gaps before it can safely expand its water portfolio or close on a planned water purchase.
"If it's confusing tonight, that's to be expected," said Britney GM, a water-rights consultant, as she walked council through technical requirements the Office of the State Engineer will require. The team's presentation identified missing proof-of-beneficial-use filings, unpaid extension penalties and an accumulated over-diversion of roughly 60 acre-feet dating back to the late 1990s.
Why it matters: The village lacks an approved 40-year water-development plan with the state engineer, a step needed to reserve municipal water for the community. Without cleaning the existing portfolio'including filing proofs, securing variances for missing surveys and addressing extensions of time'the village cannot reliably validate new transfers or rely on leased supplies beyond 2030.
What the team recommended: Carol Cristiano, a water-resources specialist, and the team recommended filing a combined/co-mingled municipal permit that groups the village's multiple well permits under one permit and allows acre-feet to be used from any well in the combined portfolio. The team said the combined permit will smooth out year-to-year over- and under-diversions, but only after the Office of the State Engineer approves outstanding compliance filings.
The timing: Presenters said the compliance filings (proofs of beneficial use, extensions of time, and limited variances where original surveys are unavailable) must be submitted first. Once those are approved, a combined/co-mingled permit application will take roughly a year to process; overall, presenters estimated about 12-18 months to establish a cleaned baseline for the village's rights.
Potential purchase and leases: Councilors pressed about an existing lease of San Juan-Chama water from Bernalillo (30 acre-feet per year through 2030) and whether that lease would reduce any water the village is proposing to buy. The team said lease payments are monetary and would not be deducted from a prospective 230 acre-feet purchase. Mike Hammond, who has served in state and regional water roles, said the 230 acre-feet under consideration are pre-1956 groundwater rights that would provide an important bridge for the village but carry different priority status than pre-1907 surface rights.
Cost and penalties: Britney GM said the village faces relatively modest historic-extension penalties (on the order of $2,100 total for the groundwater extensions identified) but that the administrative work and technical studies will require consultant time and mapping. She said the Office of the State Engineer has been cooperative and is permitting many practical variances where historic survey materials are unavailable.
Next steps and community process: Presenters urged the council to complete the compliance filings, proceed with a draft 40-year water-development plan for public review, and continue technical monitoring (including proposed meter and hydrogeologic work tied to a pending grant). Officials emphasized that no purchase funds would change hands until required state approvals are in place.
"This is simply about getting into legal compliance with your current portfolio," Britney GM said. "Once those baseline items are in order, you can consider transfers or purchases with a much clearer picture of risk and legal standing."
