SWOPblogger

Yes it's true, the day has come….

We are at the final stages of reaching a contractual agreement with Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque to build a water tank for the residents of Pajarito Mesa.

For over 8 years the community of Pajarito Mesa has been fighting to gain better access to water and other basic necessities. Currently the residents have sustained themselves through purifying their own water, installing solar panels and disposing of their own trash properly. This community has been self-sustaining itself since the 80’s around 25 years ago.

After the long fought 8 years and many negotiations, a water system will be put in place on Pajarito Road just before the top of the hill. The Albuquerque Water Authority will be extending the water lines from the County’s Reservoir along with power lines to operate the system.

The water system consists of a fill station that includes a booster pump to deliver water through a four inch line along Pajarito Road. The water fill station will be installed with a card system with set monthly costs for each resident.

In 2000, the Pajarito Mesa Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association (PMMDWCA) was created to move this process along, but was met with much resistance and stalemates. Political debates arose around the rights of the residents living there since the plots of land were sold to residents illegally. But the residents and SWOP maintained the position that every person had a right to not only live there, but be provided the basic necessities. With the many years of organizing the community and the hiring of Project Manager Eric Schmieder the doors of opportunity finally opened and the negotiations for a water system began underway in the Summer of 2007.

The Memo of Understanding is scheduled to be signed by all parties before February 26th, 2008. In the meantime the board of the PMMDWCA is working hard to update their membership lists that will want access to the water system.

The PMMDWCA and SWOP would like to thank Eric Schmieder for all of his dedicated work as the Project Manager for the water association. He has opened the doors and enhanced the opportunity for the community to put pressure on the city and county to prioritize the needs of the residents. As Sandra Montes, president of PMMDWCA says “before [Eric] we were holding the door open with our foot, when Eric came he helped us swing the door open.”

This huge victory has been long awaited but it’s only the first victory of many more to come, like the public roads for emergency services, electricity and alternative energy.

Written with contributions from Sandra Montes.

Labels: Pajarito Mesa, Water