Acequias have kept arid in green areas like New Mexico

On this occasion we will talk about acequias and their importance in maintaining the culture of water care, experts and scholars of water culture share experiences in a book “Water for the People”, the heritage of New Mexico’s acequias in a global context, a collection of essays by acequia experts and world-renowned community leaders.

In this book the essays focus on the use and history of acequias in places such as New Mexico, Chile, Spain, the Middle East, and the Philippines.

Importantly, acequias are community irrigation canals that for hundreds of years have irrigated and transformed landscapes especially in the arid upstream areas of New Mexico and Colorado.

José Rivera, Researcher at the Center for Regional Studies and Professor of Community and Regional Planning, University of New Mexico-UNM, Albuquerque, recalls that he himself is an acequiero and has been cleaning these communal canals since he was a young man.

Enrique Lamadrid, Professor Emeritus, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of New Mexico-UNM, Albuquerque, NM; talks about the impact of the acequias on the life and culture of the region.
He adds that if the area looks green it is because of the canals built communally for centuries, let’s listen to Enrique Lamadrid.

For his part, José Rivera comments on the agreements for the acequia to continue functioning over the years.

Enrique Lamadrid, talks about what was decided to plant to take advantage of the irrigation ditches. And also about the adaptation of the plants that are taken to this area.

Water for the people, is a work of the two professors Enrique Lamadrid and José Rivera, the latter explains why this system has survived.

This story is part of the series Cuando se Seca el Arroyo, oriented to cover the drying of the Colorado River, overfishing in the seas and climate resilient agriculture, the series is sponsored in part by The Walton Family Foundation.