SWOPblogger

Community to get fill station after decade long battle (click for journal site)

BY JUAN-CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Journal Staff Writer

Pajarito Mesa residents spent Saturday celebrating their successful quest to get their own water supply.

Residents, politicians and the various aid groups that helped the off-the-grid population in its nearly decade-long search for water gathered at the site of a future drinking water fill station for a groundbreaking ceremony.

“The groundbreaking was a celebration for the community of Pajarito Mesa for that which is basic to all life — water,” said Robby Rodriguez, executive director of the Southwest Organizing Project, which helped organize the mesa residents trained them how to have meetings, keep minutes, file paperwork and other tasks associated with the project.

The residents are getting a fill station that is going to be connected to a new drinking water reservoir that is going in a little farther east on Pajarito SW.

Gov. Bill Richardson provided the $750,000 it took to get the project done. The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority acted as fiscal agent for the project.

“It was a good celebration. We’re all happy because now we see our water system is a reality,” Pajarito Mesa resident Sandra Montes said. “We were all excited that thing is going to start soon.”

Montes added the new fill station is going to be a relief for residents who previously drove all over to fill up large portable tanks with water for their homes.

Nearly 150 residents came out for the ceremony, Rodriguez said, adding that it was a great relief to people who worked hard to get water.

“It all began about 10 years ago when residents first marched to the county commission meeting and demanded basic services. They are taxpaying residents, yet they lacked every single basic service the county provides,” Rodriguez said. “What it all boils down to is, these folks organized and advocated for their basic human dignity.”

Bernalillo County Commissioner Teresa Córdova, who also serves on the authority board, attended the groundbreaking.

“I think it was a very nice community event,” Córdova said. “It was a pleasure to help support their efforts in getting access to water.”

Still, Córdova cautioned that the county will not be extending any other services any time soon.

“Our first priority is still to finish the water system on the valley floor. We’re not bringing any other infrastructure up there,” Córdova said.

Labels: Pajarito Mesa, Water, Water Fill Station Groundbreaking

See the Video at KOB.com.

The ceremonial ground breaking allowed residents to reflect on the achievement Saturday

A project eight years in the making has broken ground in northern New Mexico which should bring water to Pajarito Mesa.

The water facility, when finished, will supply drinking water to about 400 families living in the area. Those residents have had to drive for miles to obtain water.

While residents will still have to transport the water from the new station to their homes, they will no longer have to buy it from neighboring areas.

The new water system will work with key cards, allowing access only to tax-paying residents.

Pajarito Mesa currently has no basic utilities, including electricity. Sandra Montes, a leader with the Southwest Organizing Project, said Saturday's groundbreaking was a turning point for the community as they develop their infrastructure.

"This event, for us, is very important. It's a first step in getting the basics we need up here," she said.

The water station is being helped along with a $500,000 grant. Organizers expect it to begin operation next year.

Labels: community organizing, Pajarito Mesa, Water

Where:

Drive south on Coors Road, to Pajarito Road, 2.5 miles south of Rio Bravo. Turn west onto Pajarito, and you will see us on the left hand side of the road before you reach the top of the hill.

The community of Pajarito Mesa, along with our partners in government, are breaking ground on a drinking water system for residents of the Mesa.

Many years in the making, this project represents significant progress in our efforts to improve the quality of life on the Mesa. We hope you will join us for a ground breaking ceremony this coming Saturday.

Please join us as we celebrate water and life on the Mesa!

Labels: Pajarito Mesa, Water

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

This is a great example of popular education in action and a way to learn about globalization. Much thanks to the children and the innovatinve ways of the after school program of Tesuque Pueblo. This was in today's Journal Santa Fe Edition.

Tesuque after-school group sells sports bottles to buy rain gathering system

BY GINGER MCGUIRE Journal Staff Writer

TESUQUE PUEBLO — Being able to help people in Africa gives 11-year-old Lakeisha Moquino an warm feeling and a sense of accomplishment.

The fifth-grader said participants in Tesuque Pueblo’s afterschool program researched poor water conditions in the world and learned that the people of Africa are experiencing a shortage of clean drinking water.

“We saw that (the people of) Africa walk miles to get water,” she said.

Some 25 members of the after-school program, mainly elementary students, are participating in a leadership project called Tapping Water for the World. So far, by selling sport water bottles with the “Water for the World” logo, they’ve raised $1,700 to help build a rainwater harvesting system in Chad. The goal is to raise $2,500.

Robb Hirsch, director of the after-school program, said he is looking for donors to match the money collected. The total cost for a rainwater harvesting system is $5,000.

The money for the water project will be sent to Global Green USA, an affiliate of Green Cross International. Hirsch said the organization helps build school-based rainwater harvesting systems that capture, treat and recycle water.

A handful of the youth involved in the project made a presentation to Tesuque Pueblo Thursday, teaching their audience about the project and the importance of water conservation.
They hung posters with messages such as, “The world’s water needs are in our hands” and “Don’t waste water.”

Hirsch said the students involved had a big say in the type of project they would work on, and work on a new leadership project each school year.

Last year the students collected blankets and books for the homeless. The year before they worked on a “Be Alive, Don’t Drink and Drive” CD that was played on local radio stations.

While the youth in the afterschool program launched this year’s campaign, Hirsch said a number of organizations including the Tesuque education and environment department have been instrumental in the project.

The water bottles, which cost $5, are available at Tesuque Village Market and Camel Rock Casino. For more information, or to donate, call Robb Hirsch at 988-3364 or email him at info@ takeresponsibility.us.

Labels: globalization, jovenes, Santa Fe, Water, youth

City, Mesa del Sol Execs Argue Over Water Rights Would Cost Almost $48 Million

Copyright © 2007 Albuquerque Journal
BY DAN MCKAY
Journal Staff Writer

Mesa del Sol executives and Albuquerque’s public water utility have a $48 million question on their hands.

Who should pay for acquiring water rights to serve the massive development?

The developer of Mesa del Sol, Forest City Covington, says a 1993 agreement with the city of Albuquerque means the company doesn’t have to pay extra for water rights when it connects to the utility system.

The city-county water authority, on the other hand, says the agreement calls for the development to come at “no net expense” to the rest of the utility’s customers.

That means homeowners in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County shouldn’t have to subsidize the water rights needed for Mesa del Sol, said Mark Sanchez, executive director of the water authority. Instead, the company — or the new home buyers — would pay.

Mesa del Sol is a 12,900-acre planned community expected to consist of 35,000 homes and additional commercial space, within 30 years. The water authority has never had to consider a development of that magnitude, Sanchez said.

“We can’t handle that with our current water supply,” he said.

The dispute came up Wednesday in a meeting of the water authority’s governing board, which includes city councilors, county commissioners and the mayor.

The board voted 5-1 in favor of a resolution saying new development outside the
existing service area should pay for its own water rights. The measure touches on a host of other policies as well.

Mesa del Sol executives objected and asked the board to postpone action on the resolution. They said the water rights policy shouldn’t apply to them because of the 1993 agreement, which was for annexation into city limits.

Sanchez said the water rights policy isn’t new. The principle of growth paying for itself — including the need for new water rights — is already contained in the city and county’s top land-use document, the Comprehensive Plan; the Water Resources Management Strategy adopted by the utility; and the Planned Growth Strategy adopted by the city, he said.

The resolution adopted Wednesday simply compiles a host of existing policies into one document, Sanchez said.

Voting in favor were City Councilors Martin Heinrich, Isaac Benton and Michael Cadigan and County Commissioners Deanna Archuleta and Teresa Córdova.

Bruce Perlman, the top executive under Mayor Martin Chávez, voted “no.” During the meeting, Perlman said the “no net expense” policy seems reasonable, but he didn’t say why he voted against the resolution.

Earlier agreement
Mesa del Sol executives argued that the policy violates the 1993 agreement and that they had been assured by either the state Land Office, the University of New Mexico or the city administration that they didn’t need water rights.

The agreement mentions water service coming at “no net” cost to the city, but that phrase applies to water lines and equipment — not to securing more water rights, contends Forest City. The company said the regular water rates paid by each customer each month are supposed to fund the acquisition of water rights.

Michael Daly, chief operating officer for Forest City, said water rights are a “major impact on us.” The cost of water rights has been rising over time.

“We cannot have costs out of our control,” he told the authority Wednesday. “We have very tight economics.”

He said the cost of water just adds to other expenses at Mesa del Sol, such as neighborhood association fees.

“We can’t die the death of a thousand slices. It’ll ruin the project,” Daly said.

Possible lawsuit
A three-page letter from Forest City’s attorney mentions the possibility of litigation over the issue.

Cadigan said the company should have anticipated the cost of water because the 1993 agreement mentions the “no net expense” requirement and doesn’t have an exception for water rights.

“It seems to me that ‘no net expense’ means ‘no net expense,’ ’’ Cadigan said.
Failing to anticipate that cost “is a risk of doing business. If Mesa del Sol doesn’t pay for this, the existing ratepayers do.”

Córdova and others directed the authority’s staff to try to reach some kind of agreement with Mesa del Sol.

After the meeting, Daly said the policy vote wasn’t a major blow to the project and that he would continue working with the water authority to resolve the dispute.

The water authority estimated the cost of acquiring water for homes and businesses at Mesa del Sol at almost $48 million.

The cost would be spread out over several decades and could climb based on the market for water rights.

The water debate is likely to linger — developing the old Westland property and the expansion of water service in the South Valley also could raise the issue.
Sanchez pointed out that new development is required to be conservation-friendly and use only about 75 gallons daily per person — less than half what the utility’s customers as a whole consume.

Labels: Albuquerque, City Politics, Mesa Del Sol, Water, Water Rights