•  
  •  
 

Abstract

In the case of Bounds v. State of New Mexico, the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a statute that allows domestic wells to be permitted with less oversight than other water rights. The statute, known as the domestic well exemption, is common in various forms throughout the Western United States. Currently, there are an estimated 200,000 permitted domestic wells across the State of New Mexico, increasing at a rate of approximately 5,000 per year. Various scholars have argued for amendments to domestic well statutes or local regulations to make exempt well applications as rigorous as other water right applications. In consideration of local solutions, this study addresses one of few municipal ordinances and three important controversies in domestic well management: the interaction between domestic well pumping and other water uses, the longevity of groundwater sources, and the “development loophole.” The City of Santa Fe’s domestic well ordinance is found to indirectly address concerns related to aquifer use and conservation, however, policies restricting well uptake in threatened areas that speak to specific, measurable goals, aligned with accurate databases, may better serve municipalities and counties in New Mexico as they do in other states.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.