An article in the Saturday 11/14/98 Abq. Journal outlined a request to the State Engineer for permission to pump more than 1 billion gallons of ground water per year in the area of the Campbell Ranch. The request was from an entity called "Sandoval County Mountain Springs Ranch" and was signed by Ron Tisk, president of Campbell Farms Corp. It says that "the water would come from an area within the San Pedro Grant". The Company proposes to drill 49 wells and would use the water for "residential, commercial, industrial, recreation, educational, wholesale and related purposes". The article indicated that residents have until the following Monday 11/16 to file protests. I have a call into Mary Bernstein as I type this and hopefully others are aware of this application and we have gotten involved. If not we need to ASAP! Please let me know if anyone has more info on this.

Thanks, Bob

-- Anonymous, November 14, 1998

Answers

Bob McCabe, I wrote a letter of protest to the State Engineer's Office concerning the matter of appropriation of 5100 acre feet of water (copy below). If things work as they used to, anyone not getting a protest into that office by the 16th cannot be part of the protest (officially). The people of La Madera and I believe Placitas orginally knocked down the application by the previous owner of the Paako Property.

Date: November 12, 1998

To: Thomas C. Turney, State Engineer 121 Tijeras NE, Suite 2000 Albuquerque, NM 87102

From: Kenneth C. Bauhs 437 Frost Road Sandia Park, NM 87047

Re: Protest Of The Application By Sandia Mountain Springs, Inc. For Appropriation Of New Mexico Ground Water

Dear Sir:

In June of 1995 my wife and I purchased Lot 7 within San Pedro Creek Estates, a Campbell Farming Development within San Pedro Land Grant. We have along with many other purchasers of land in this subdivision drilled a residential water well on our property. We feel the application by Sandia Mountain Springs, Inc. would have an adverse effect on our well which is 350 feet deep with a stated yield by the well driller of 15 gpm.

When another part of this Grant was developed as Paako Subdivision some years back the developer of that subdivision, Roger Cox was required to purchase water and build a water pipeline from the Estancia Valley. This after a previous owner of that property was denied permission to appropriate water from within the subdivision by the State Engineer's Office.

After hearing and reading about water appropriations in New Mexico over many years I felt that certainly water appropriations were way over appropriated in this state. After hearing Governor Gary Johnson speak recently this feeling was confirmed when he stated that the water is probably over-appropriated by a factor of four.

More recently I attended a meeting of the Entranosa Water Coop where it was stated that the Estancia Water Basin was most likely replenished partly by water from the Sandia Water Basin.

Since most of the water in the Estancia Basin is probably already appropriated for agricultural uses and is gradually being reappropriated for residential use I feel that if Sandoval County Mountain Springs Ranch, Inc. wishes to develop such a high density, high water use plan, the water (if your office determines that water is available) should also come from the Estancia Basin. To allow such water use in the San Pedro Grant would, I feel have an adverse affect on existing residential well appropriations in a broad area surrounding this Grant. Thank you for your consideration.

Copy to: Mary Bernstein, President, San Pedro Creek Estates Homeowner's Association

-- Anonymous, November 15, 1998