Project Summary

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, has prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed design and construction of the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System (RWS) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. A Record of Decision was signed by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science in 2019, selecting the preferred alternative and authorizing construction contingent on funding availability.  The system, once built, will serve the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, Pueblo of Nambé, Pueblo of Pojoaque, and Pueblo of Tesuque, and county residents within the Pojoaque Basin. 

Click here to download a Google Earth map of the analyzed alternatives, including the preferred alternative for the proposed Regional Water System (download Google Earth for free here).

On December 8, 2010, the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-291) was signed into law. Title VI of the Claims Resolution Act, the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act, authorizes (1) the Settlement Agreement; (2) construction of the RWS; (3) acquisition of water rights; and (4) establishment of the  Aamodt Settlement Pueblos' Fund.  The regional water system would consist of surface water collection facilities at the Pueblo de San Ildefonso on the Rio Grande and treatment, transmission, storage, and distribution facilities that would supply up to 4,000 acre-feet annually to customers within the Pojoaque Basin. 

On January 12, 2018, the Notice of Availability of the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register. The Final EIS assesses the impacts on the human environment from the proposed RWS and associated connected actions. The Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on January 6, 2017. Public comments on the Draft EIS were accepted through February 27, 2017. Reclamation held four public meetings in February 2017. Materials from the public meetings are available here.