2026 Shortage Sharing Agreement and Schedule
1. Sharing Parties
Ohkay Owingeh
Rio Chama Acéquia Association member acéquias
Acéquia de los Salazares, Acéquia de Abeyta y Trujillo, Acéquia Valentin Martinez, Acéquia de la Puente, Acéquia de Tierra Azul, Acéquia de Jose Ferran, Acéquia de Jose, Pablo Gonzales, Acéquia Mariano, Acéquia de Manzanares y Montoya, Acéquia de
Quintana, Acéquia del Rio de Chama, Acéquia de Jose V. Martinez, Acéquia de los Gonzales, Acéquia de los Martinez, Acéquia de los Duranes, Acéquia de Chamita, Acéquia de Chili y la Cuchilla, Acéquia de Hernandez, Acéquia Barranco, Acéquia Suazo.
Acéquias Norteñas member acéquias, Acéquia de Los Brazos, La Puente Community Ditch, Ensenada Community Ditch,
Parkview Community Ditch, El Brazito & Lateral Acéquia, Acéquia del Bordo, Acéquia del Llano, Acéquia del Brazito, Acéquia de la Otra Banda, Acéquia el Pinabetal (Canjilon), Acéquia de Pinavetal (Cebolla), Cebolla Acéquia Madre, Acéquia de Tierra
Amarilla, Cañones Arriba Ditch #1, Barranco Community Ditch, M-B Community Ditch, Plaza Blanca Community Ditch,Porvenir Ditch, Village of Chama Community Ditch, Willow Creek Community Ditch and the Valley Ditch.
1. Basin Wide Rules
1. The Water Masters will administer the sharing schedule in accordance with the
included schedules. The Water Masters may suspend curtailment in whole or in part
as basin conditions allow.
2. Any Sharing Party diverters on the shortage sharing schedule that are non-compliant
with the agreement may be suspended for a week from the schedule at the Water
Masters’ discretion.
3. If a non-Sharing Party fails to comply, after one warning given either verbally or in
writing from the Water Masters, with the shortage sharing agreement and schedule or an
approved cooperating diverter agreement during curtailment, the Water Masters may
fully curtail that non-Sharing Party's diversions for the remainder of the irrigation season.
4. For the 2026 season, because of anticipated very low-flow conditions, the Water
Masters and the Sharing Parties may hold weekly meetings once higher flows from
spring runoff start to subside. The purpose of the meetings is to carry out the intent of
shortage sharing agreement. Additional meeting topics may be added at the Water
Masters’s discretion.
5. Water for indoor domestic use and essential community services will not be curtailed.
2 Lower Chama Sharing Party Rules
1. Ditches can alter the schedule by trading allocations with approval of both ditches
and the Water Masters. Any alterations to the RCAA base schedule must be submitted
to the Water Masters the Sunday before the group start day for the ditches requesting
an alteration.
2. RCAA Ditches and Lower Chama diversions may turn on no earlier than 7 am on the
first day of their scheduled period and must turn off by 7 am the morning after their
last scheduled day.
3. Ohkay Owingeh may use any tailwater that is available on Acéquia de Chamita’s
days.
4. Ditches that cannot divert their full allocation shall notify the Water Masters
immediately. The Water Master will notify Ohkay Owingeh of any available surplus
water for its bosque use first. Ohkay Owingeh will, within 1 hour of being
notified of available surplus water, notify the Water Master that it intends to use all or
some of the available surplus water. Ohkay Owingeh will make every effort to
respond promptly. On Ohkay Owingeh irrigation days surplus water will be made
available to Ohkay Owingeh first. The Water Masters will make any remaining surplus
water available to other diverters at their discretion and by priority, as available.
5. The Water Masters shall shut off diversions to the Acequia de Chamita if, due to a
violation by a Chamita Parciante of the water sharing schedule, flows at the State
Engineer Yungeh Gage drop below the cfs rate allocated to Ohkay Owingeh under the
water sharing schedule after reasonable carriage losses have been subtracted. The
curtailment of the Acequia de Chamita diversions based on the flow rate at the State
Engineer Yungeh Gage will remain in effect for the remainder of the week in which
the schedule violation occurred. Diversions shall not be resumed until Ohkay
Owingeh’s next turn on the water sharing schedule. If Ohkay Owingeh uses an
alternative point of diversion, the Acequia de Chamita must reduce its diversion at the
direction of the Water Master to balance total diversions serving Ohkay Owingeh for
the rotation. Ohkay Owingeh, the Water Masters, and RCAA may agree to alternative
enforcement measures, as appropriate.
6. The RCAA will notify the OSE that the 2026 carriage agreement is in effect no later
than three days before any water is used under the agreement. The RCAA will notify the
OSE of the anticipated date when the carriage agreement is no longer active at least three
days prior the date of last water use under the agreement.
7. All river pumps supplemental to RCAA members on Ferran (SD – 00970) shall only
operate on Ferran scheduled days during curtailment.
8. All other river pumps on the Rio Chama below El Vado Reservoir shall not operate at
any time USGS La Puente is under 50 CFS.
3. Upper Chama Sharing Party Rules
1. With the goal of delaying La Puente falling to 50 cfs by a minimum of one week if
feasible,
a. Post-1907 diversions will reduce diversions to 50% of their allocated
administrative flow rate at 70 cfs and to 40% of their allocated administrative
flow rate at 50 cfs. Pre-1907 diversions will reduce diversions to 50% of the
allocated administrative flow rate at 50 cfs.
b. When La Puente falls under 75 cfs, the Water Masters will initiate
conversations with mayordomos or other representatives of pre-1907 and
post-1907 diversions located above La Puente to make voluntary reductions,
beyond mandatory reduction in paragraph 1A, between 70-50 cfs at La Puente
in an attempt to delay curtailment for more senior diversions in the Lower
Chama.
2. Irrigation ditches will be limited to livestock use only after July 31 if La Puente is less
than 50 cfs.1 The Water Masters may restrict livestock diversions based on basin
conditions. Livestock flows will be determined by the Water Masters based on livestock
need, available water supply, and the available flows at La Puente. If flows at La Puente
are under 35 cfs after July 31, livestock diversions with high loss rates shall attempt to
satisfy livestock demand from wells, existing livestock impoundments, and by hauling
water. Any irrigation water right holder may haul water for livestock use from the Rio
Chama or any permitted livestock well if their irrigation ditch is turned off.
The identified high loss rate ditches for the 2026 season are: MB, Willow Creek Mesa,
and the HND extension to Canones Creek #1. The criteria used to determine high loss
rate ditches is:
a. Lack of direct return flows to the Rio Chama,
b. Existence of private ponds diverting directly from primary ditch conveyances
without the ability to control diversions or releases, and
c. The length of the ditch.
3. Diversions shall bypass livestock water to support downstream livestock demands
within their sub-basin. The Water Masters will inform diversions of downstream
livestock needs and determine the minimum bypass necessary to meet those needs.
4. No diversion shall take all the available water at their point of diversion and dry their
1 The diversion for Cumbres y Toltec (SD-3092-1) may divert 0.135 cfs two days a week or
0.1 cfs ten days during a month (storage conditions allowing) after July 31 if La Puente is
less than 50 cfs. The Sharing Parties and the OSE agree to meet and confer to work on
developing standard procedures to address out-of-priority users during periods
of shortage sharing. Depending on the progress of the discussions, the Sharing Parties may
include such procedures in the 2027 shortage sharing agreement.
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stream reach if there are downstream irrigation diversions or livestock needs within
their sub-basin.
5. Diverters may voluntarily work together to allocate the supply among themselves (for
example by employing ditch rotation), so long as the total diversion of participating
ditches does not exceed the total maximum diversion allowable to those ditches. In
addition under low-flow conditions, a single ditch or ditches may aggregate their cfs
allocation over fewer days per week rather than diverting seven days per week, based
on a schedule approved by the Water Master.
6. For the 2026 season, when the flow at Cañones Ditch #1 diversion falls below 4.0
CFS, daily diversions on Cañones Creek located upstream of Cañones Ditch #1
diversion will be limited to livestock use only. Irrigation by upstream diverters will
be allowed every other Sunday unless further restricted at the discretion of the
Cañones Ditch #1 Mayordomo to ensure all parciantes for Cañones Ditch #1 are
able to adequately irrigate their properties. Diversions into ponds will not be
allowed at any time when the flow at Cañones Ditch #1 diversion falls below 4.5
CFS.
7. For the 2026 season, all diversions on Tierra Amarilla Creek located upstream of the
Tierra Amarilla Community Ditch diversion will be limited to livestock use only
when the flow at the Tierra Amarilla Community Ditch diversion first falls below
2.00 cfs. When flow at the Tierra Amarilla Community Ditch diversion is between 2.0
and 5.22 cfs, irrigation by upstream diverters will be limited to Sundays.
8. For the 2026 season, the Sharing Parties have identified the likely need to include
additional triggers for further reduction, for example when USGS La Puente flow drops
to 35 cfs, post-1907 diversions could be further reduced; and when USGS La Puente flow
drops to 25 cfs, pre-1907 diversions could be further reduced. These additional measures
will be the subject of the weekly meetings described above.
9. No off-stream private recreational or aesthetic uses or diversions are allowed when
USGS La Puente flow drops under 50 CFS for any perennial surface water diversion
including both sharing and non-sharing parties. These prohibited uses include lawns,
landscaping, and private ponds. Sharing party members have a responsibility to inform
and manage their own users during shortage sharing. On-stream private ponds and ponds
connected to a perennial source through the shallow water table must have a cooperative
diverter agreement or must be physically modified to cease diversion or depletion of
stream flows during curtailment.
10. All illegal diversions from non-futile surface water sources will be turned off by the
Water Masters or may be subject to OSE enforcement.
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11. All diversions must be controllable to the satisfaction of the Water Masters to operate
during curtailment. Failure to meet this requirement means the Water Masters may fully
curtail the diversion.
12. Irrigation ditch diversions less than 0.1 CFS have been determined to be a non-
administrable amount of water by the Rio Chama Water Master in the Upper Chama basin.
