Congratulations to the 10 recipients of the NMAA “Que Vivan las Acequias” awards (learn more about the projects below). These projects celebrate acequia’s collective hard work to maintain and improve our infrastructure in order to keep our land based traditions thriving! Some of these projects received funding through ACDIF – Acequia and Community Ditch Infrastructure Fund administered by the Acequia Bureau at the Interstate Stream Commission.
ACDIF Engineering Applications are due March 31st. The time to start your application is NOW. The app requires a proposal by an engineer. Please reach out to Jason@lasacequias.org and Serafina@lasacequias.org for assistance or call 505-995-9644. ACDIF is the most organized and reliable way to achieve infrastructure funding for your acequia. If you need to start or complete a project, we encourage you to apply. (Please keep a look out for policy action alerts as we are working to raise the 2.5 million annual allocation to ACDIF to 5 million this legislative session). ACDIF construction funding applications will be due May 9th.
Apply NOW for Financial Assistance to complete an audit with the OSA. If your acequia has already spent 50% or the remainder of a Capital Outlay award you need to complete a tier 3 or above AUP with the Office of the State Audit (OSA). We strongly encourage all acequias to apply for financial assistance to cover the cost of financial compliance. Learn more HERE and contact OSA for assistance.
Click Here to view the recording of online workshop
Click Here for an overview of the fund
Click Here to view the checklist for the ACDIF Application
Click Here for the Application Forms
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Acequia de las Trampas
Flume Engineering and Construction Project (Canova Project)
Trampas as a community is a national historic landmark and the wood flumes are part of the community. It was important us to maintain this historic piece of infrastructure.
The canova or wood flumes were starting to rot and leak, and needed to be replaced. There was also some erosion at the base of the supports. Our goal was to keep the traditional canova that everyone loves to see, and make it structurally more solid. More water goes through flume now and it is elevated it so its not on the ground. The entry and exit points are reinforced with stone. It also helped with flow in and out, with more water quickly going through and water does not sit in the canova.
Submitted by Emilio Martinez; used ISC Funding and Taos SWCD Grant
Acequia de La Isla
Morphy Lake Dam Renovation Project
For over 164 years the Acequia de San Jose and Acequia de la Isla have been in possession of Morphy Lake. They have worked together to build a depósito (reservoir) from a small natural pond that became Morphy Lake.
Morphy Lake Dam had to be renovated to meet new Flood Hazard Standards. This dam provides irrigation water for 1,200 ac of land for both acequias in the Ledoux Valley.
Submitted by Harold Trujillo; used Capital Outlay funding
Acequia De La Otra Banda
Geomorphic Evaluation of the Riverbed and Proposed Presa Site
There are approximately 21 Acequias in the Pojoaque Valley region and during the August 1st 2025 flood, all but four of the presas had to be rebuilt. Headgate and diversion structure design and stream restoration projects benefit from having regional information available to inform the design parameters such as bankfull width and area. The stream channels have been impacted by heavy grazing and by recreational traffic across and within the channel, as well as the building and rebuilding of sand berms at several presas.
There are currently four acequias working together to share information, data and experience to make this a successful project overall. We are working with Tailwater Ltd to perform a streambed, geomorphic assessment in several reaches of the river. This assessment will develop reference data sets that can be used to size diversion structures and channels in restoration design. The overarching goal is to improve conditions within the basin to reduce in-channel work near presas, increase reliability of acequias, and promote overall watershed health for the benefit of all.
Submitted by Kimberly Sheehan; using Capital Outlay Funding
Acequia del Rancho
Completion of Infrastructure Improvement Plan
The Arroyo del Jaconita was a project to prevent the arroyo flooding from going into the acequia and filling it with mud. This required the installation of concrete headwalls to prevent the arroyo flood waters from entering the acequia system. The diversion site rebuild was to stabilize this location and install a new diversion head wall and new culvert under the County Road, a new head gate diversion box, and reline 75 feet of acequia concrete ditch. We also installed a new three phase service box for our irrigation well.
Submitted by Steve Carson; Used Capital Outlay, ISC and NM Emergency Management Funding – No Photo Available
Acequia de Las Joyas (Pojoaque)
Grade Stabilization Structure
This project included creating a sheet piling structure with rock to stabilize the undercutting of the existing diversion dam. This project keeps our diversion dam alive, keeping it from being undercut from erosion, and given the flooding the river has been degraded.
Submitted by Edward Romero; used ACDIF funding
Des Montes Ditch Association
DMDA 4-Way Splitter
The project includes the removal of the old structure and the construction of a new 4-way splitter to include 4-headgates.
Submitted by Carlos Miera; used Capital Outlay, ISC-ACDIF, and Taos SWCD Funding
Hillside Irrigation District
Hillside Ditch Headgate/Spillway Replacement
Hillside-Thomas Ditch has been in operation since 1889. The headgate/spillway structure controls water from the La Plata River to the ditch. While we don’t know how old the headgate was, the concrete was worn away, the rebar was rusting and the slide gate was rusted and leaking. The land wheel was only accessible by a loose 2’ by 8’ plank.
Using Capital Outlay funding, the new structure has a new stainless steel slide gate and a large walkway for access. The spillway has high strength aluminum stop logs to control the water instead of water-logged 2’ by 6’ boards.
The structure includes something the ditch has never had, a steel-decked vehicle crossing over the spillway. The new crossing allows maintenance equipment to access the area, regardless of the weather or water flow. The replacement structure is made up of 12 inch thick walls of concrete and steel, stainless steel slide gate, and heavy steel decking for the vehicle crossing and personnel access. The new structure was successfully commissioned last irrigation season in March 2025.
Submitted by Leslie Larson; used Capital Outlay Funding
Acequia de Martinez de Abajo
Rebuilding Acequia de Martinez de Abajo
We built a new presa so that everyone gets water.
Submitted by Jolene Vigil; used ACDIF and Capital Outlay Funding
Ponderosa Ditch Association
Ponderosa Pond
We removed debris and sediment that was caused by the Cerro Pelado Fire. This pond brings our water storage back to par and provides more volume/rotation for fields and gardens.
Submitted by Anna Soto; used NRCS Funding
Acequia de Los Lovatos
Main Diversion Dam for Acequia de Los Lovatos
We replaced the diversion dam (built in 1962) that was damaged in two floods (1979 and 1991). In fact, it was no longer functioning as a diversion dam. Now we have a functioning dam that allows our mayordomo to more quickly serve our acequia membership in spring and early summer surface watering of our orchards, gardens and fields.
Submitted by David Muñoz; used ISC- ACDIF Funding
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