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In August, Santa Fe County commissioned Research & Polling, Inc. to measure awareness levels of the Aamodt settlement and proposed water system, as well as determine what action non-Pueblo property owners plan to take regarding the source of their water. Poll results reveal strong negative feelings (59% have a negative response and only 8% have a positive response) towards the Aamodt settlement agreement. Poll results show the vast majority (72%) report knowing only a little or nothing about the Aamodt agreement.

Negative feelings about the process by which the Aamodt settlement agreement came about was highlighted in the poll results. Community members pointed out a lack of transparency and community outreach during the process of the agreement:

• Awareness of the Aamodt water rights case is nearly universal (91%) among property owners in the Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque Basin but only 28% of area property owners say they have heard a lotabout it
• 51% of local property owners have heard a littleabout the settlement provisions
• 21% have heard nothingat all about it

The majority of residents (56%) feel it is very or somewhat important that a community water system be an option available to them if they ever needed to replace their well. The reasons why residents support a water system, the poll revealed, are because it would be a cleaner water source, it ensures water availability in the region, and they will be able to connect to a community system. The plurality of residents say they will connect to the water system under certain conditions (41%). Thirty-six percent are undecided about which of the three community water system options they would choose. Twenty-three percent of residents polled say they would never connect to the system.

In the next few months, Santa Fe County plans to reach out to residents in the Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque Basin to provide more information about a possible community water system in their area. “We want to keep the dialogue going,” said Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, “As long as we keep the lines of communication open, I feel we can put these forty years of disagreement behind us and begin to move forward.”

The County also plans to meet with residents who have their own well and farm their land to discuss options, ideas, and possibilities in relation to a community water system. Residents who farm their land and use their own well are less apt to connect to a community water system and are more likely to remain undecided about the source of their future water use. Data shows that residents who use a community well (not their own well) and those who do not use their land for agricultural purposes are more likely than others to say they plan to hook up immediately upon completion of the system.

In 1966, the Aamodt case was filed to determine water rights between four Pueblos and non-Pueblo property owners in the Nambe-Pojoaque-Tesuque Basin. Forty years later, in 2006, a settlement agreement was signed by the State, Santa Fe County, City of Santa Fe, and the four Pueblos involved, that included a proposed community water system which would provide service to non-Pueblo residents in the surrounding area.

Download the Poll results here.