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The Santa Fe County Water Conservation Program has been awarded a $60,000 grant from the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BoR).  Of the award, $50,000 will be used to fund a domestic well metering program and $10,000 will be used to develop a written water management and conservation plan. The written water conservation plan will be submitted to the NM Office of the State Engineer (OSE).  “We’re pleased to have received this seed funding” said Laurie Trevizo, Santa Fe County Water Resource Specialist, “Water management and conservation is one of the County’s top priorities and these funds assist us in expediting the process of turning ideas into effective action.”

The BoR grants are specifically used for water conservation programs including written water conservation plans, implementation activities, and education and outreach activities. Their objective is to improve water use efficiency, encourage water management planning by water purveyors, promote basic technical understanding of water management and conservation practices by water users and basic understanding of water use issues by the public.

Santa Fe County’s grant application was reviewed, scored, ranked and awarded out of 42 other applicants.  Awards from the Bureau of Reclamation are given for water conservation projects throughout the Upper Rio Grande districts including Colorado and New Mexico.  The County’s water management and conservation plan will be on file at the OSE and will be developed around a “proactive” approach toward water conservation by voluntarily complying with the Reclamation Reform act of 1982.