Commissioners, do your Acequia bylaws need to be updated?

Dear Commissioners,

The New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA) is dedicated to strengthening acequias and protecting acequia water rights. As part of our Acequia Governance Project, NMAA assists acequias in developing and implementing bylaws. Bylaws are the governing document of the acequia and an essential legal document that every acequia should have and be familiar with. Some of the important protections bylaws provide are assuring local autonomy over water transfers and establishing a water bank to protect against claims of non-use. Even if you have adopted some version of NMAA’s template, we recommend periodic reviews and updates to address changes in law or changes on the acequia.

Keeping in mind NMAA’s mission to provide quality technical assistance to as many acequias as possible that request it, the organization has decided to implement an application process whereby we will choose 20 acequias to assist during the remainder of this fiscal year (8 months) in reviewing and updating their respective bylaws. Acequias not chosen this fiscal year will be waitlisted for next fiscal year. The application is short and requires a minimal amount of information to help us project our bylaws-related workload during this fiscal year.