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A Case Study Of Water Sharing In The San Juan Basin, Sara Henchey Brosnan

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

In times of shortage, how should New Mexico's scarce water supply be allocated? New Mexico's prior appropriations doctrine gives a temporal preference of 'first in time, first in right,' as the rule for allocation. Unfortunately, in most basins, we do not know with certainty who that 'first' is, because rights have not been adjudicated. In 2004, the New Mexico Legislature passed Active Water Resource Management (AWRM) legislation which codified the Office of the State Engineer's (OSE's) authority to administer water rights in advance of adjudication if needed. The OSE promulgated general regulations in 2004 implementing the legislation and district specific …