Ecohydrology

Traditional irrigation systems of northern New Mexico, also known as acequias, embody integrated socio-environmental systems; they are at once physical surface water delivery structures and community water management organizations. Because acequias rely on diversions from rivers and streams, they are acutely vulnerable to variable surface water availability. In a region subject to periodic water scarcity, acequias' resilience has historically hinged on maintaining inherent connectivities between surface water and groundwater, between irrigated landscapes and contributing watersheds, and among community members with different levels of involvement in water management. New seemingly existential threats challenge acequias' resilience. These include reduced snowmelt runoff due to climate change, residential expansion into previously farmed and wild lands, tourism and recreation development, reduced youth involvement in agriculture, forest health impacted by drought and wildfire, and reduced community involvement in water management. These challenges will require new adaptations to maintain the resilience of acequia-irrigated farmlands, their associated communities, and contributing watersheds. Building on two decades of partnership, this project is an innovative research collaboration between local stakeholders and university researchers at the highest level of community engagement, where the direction of the study is community-led in problem definition, identification of existing system drivers, and resilience scenario development. This project will support a new set of community adaptations for the 21st century; these could transform water and land management as well as the legal and political webs of support for healthy and productive communities and landscapes. New knowledge generated in this project will be disseminated through formal and informal channels, including scientific, extension, outreach publications, university coursework content, and community meetings and workshops.

Past Research on Acequias - Publications

Real-time irrigation diversion data delivery can benefit adaptive capacity in communal irrigation systems

A water balancing act: Water balances highlight the benefits of community-based adaptive management in northern New Mexico, USA

River-ditch flow statistical relationships in a traditionally irrigated valley near Taos New Mexico

River-ditch hydrologic connections in a traditionally irrigated agricultural valley in New Mexico

Linkages between acequia farming and rangeland grazing in traditional agropastoral communities of the southwestern USA

Surface water and groundwater interactions in traditionally‐irrigated fields in northern New Mexico, U.S.A.

Modeling acequia irrigation systems using system dynamics: Model development, evaluation, and sensitivity analyses to investigate effects of socio-economic and biophysical feedbacks

Linked hydrologic and social systems that support resilience of traditional irrigation communities

River hydrograph retransmission functions of irrigated valley surface water–groundwater interactions

Shallow aquifer recharge from irrigation in a semiarid agricultural valley in New Mexico

Hydrologic connectivity of head waters and floodplains in a semi-arid watershed

Collaborative community hydrology research in northern New Mexico

Acequias and the effects of climate change

Modeling sustainability of water, environment, livelihood, and culture in traditional irrigation communities and their linked watersheds

Deep percolation and water table fluctuations in response to irrigation inputs: Field observations

Water balance and aquifer recharge from irrigation in an agricultural valley of a semiarid region in the United States of America

Deep percolation and its effects on shallow groundwater level rise following flood irrigation