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FEBRUARY 7, 2001

In a decision one attorney has called "disturbing," a federal court on Thursday limited the future water uses of four New Mexico Pueblos to actual use between 1876 and 1924.

The court order says the water rights of Pojoaque, Tesuque, San Ildefonso, and Nambé on the Rio Pojoaque and Rio Tesuque are limited to the time period in question because Congress, through ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to the Pueblo Lands Act of 1924, acted to determine the Pueblos' water rights once and for all.

Future water uses could be claimed but they would be subject to state requirements. The effects of the ruling on the economic development efforts of the tribes are not yet known.

The order is part of the ongoing Aamodt water rights lawsuit.

Get the Story:
Water Ruling Is Limiting (The Albuquerque Journal 2/7)