Acequias

Author: Jahiya Clark

Short Summary

The term "acequia" has two meanings:
  1. An irrigation conveyance system, i.e. a canal that delivers water from a river to an irrigation field
  2. The association of members organized around it

Locations: Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and southwest United States

An illustration of an Acequia by Ed Sandoval. source

Profile

Acequias can be found in southern Iberia, the Andes, Mexico and the southwest United States. New Mexico is home to about 800–1000 constantly changing acequias. They are located in the upper valleys around small rivers and watersheds. The term acequia derives from the Arabic as-saqiya, meaning "water carrier." In arid regions, where equitable water distribution is of critical importance, acequias help effectively distribute water. “This acequia does more than distribute water. It holds the community together as a spirit enterprise,” says Don Bustos, a master farmer and long-time mayordomo of the Acequia de Santa Cruz in the hills above Española (source).

Acequias as an association are made up of the beneficiaries of the canal, the landowners. They maintain the canals because they own the land they run through, they are acequia water rights holders, and they intend to use their water.

This commons is deeply rooted in tradition. It was passed along from North African Moors to Spanish Conquistadors to the first citizens of the Americas. In the Southwest U.S., acequia traditions like sacar la acequia or la limpia are a communal or commoning-type effort to clean the acequia each spring or fall before the irrigation season. Some have been covered due to urbanization. In Spain, farming communities that continued the usage of acequias are fading out due to the exodus of rural inhabitants.

Acequias deserve political protection because anthropogenic climate change is diminishing access to clean and safe water. Acequias are a resilient, sustainable, and efficient method of water distribution in the face of climate change.

An urban aqueduct in Mendoza, Argentina. source

Governance

Acequias can be considered some of the first democracies in the continental United States. Members are called parciantes, who govern democratically and elect a mayordomo (acequiero in Spain) or a ditch rider/manager. The mayordomo is selected annually to oversee the maintenance and operations of acequias. Mayordomos allocate water proportionately to parciantes irrigated acreage. Mayordomos are often paid for their work during the irrigation season, since they control water delivery.

A three-person commission exists for each acequia. Elected positions are chosen by the parciantes: a president, secretary, and treasurer. The commission acts as the governing body of the acequia.

The New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA) advocates for all acequias in the state and has won many legislative cases to protect traditional irrigation. This commission is made up of parciantes from different acequias in the state, who sit on a council to advise the governor of New Mexico.

“Acequias are a voice from the past, but they’re also a voice for the future,” says Paula Garcia, the executive director of the NMAA. “The day-to-day-water ethic and the day-to-day moral economy is really important for how we manage water for the future. It’s a model of how to govern the commons.” (source)

From Stanley Crawford, a garlic farmer and novelist who has used Acequia del Bosque and the Acequia del Llano in Dixon for irrigation since 1971: “There’s a democratic structure. People control a basic resource, something that is very unusual in the U.S. And there’s a very strong aesthetic component. There’s something really magical about that.” (source)

From Enrique Lamadrid, New Mexican orchard landowner: “It’s a privilege to use water communally. The acequia is physical and spiritual and communal values.” (source)

"A Native American (San Juan, Tewa) man stands on a log that spans the the acequia (irrigation ditch) at San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico; a woman with an olla (a water vessel) kneels beside the ditch - Jackson - 1882/1900" source

Origin Story

Acequias spread through Iberian Peninsula during the North African Muslim occupation (by the Moors) in the eighth century. In 1598, the first acequia in North America was constructed by a Spanish conquistador, Juan de Oñate, in San Gabriel (a Yunque village at the time), New Mexico. Spanish settlers introduced this form of irrigation to the area; by the next season, the harvest was abundant. Oñate and his men integrated this irrigation technique with the similar canals used by the Pueblo to grow corn, beans, and squash. Acequias have become a necessity for growing in this type of environment. (source)

"Bathing in the hot spring acequia" by William Henry Jackson (Mexico, 1880) source

See Also

  • New Mexico Acequia Commission: Designed as an advisory board to the governor of New Mexico and other stakeholders on the criteria for rehabilitating acequias. This commons acts as a discussion place for acequias and is a decision-making group of people on a public resource, such as clean safe water access on your own property. However, this public resource is limited to those who are currently on the land.
  • MEMOLab with the University of Granada: This group’s primary goal is the restoration of acequias. They have restored 14 acequias and cleaned 30 others in Spain. "We try to improve the governance of the community, to empower the community, to promote the dynamisation of the community and the recovery of knowledge and practices," says project coordinator and archaeology professor José María Martín Civantos.

Sources