Niagara proposal is not worth the risk to shared resources 

Niagara Bottling wants to pump 254 million gallons of water from beneath our communities. We urge the village of Los Lunas to say no.   

On Feb. 8, the Los Lunas Council will consider Niagara Bottling’s proposal to triple its groundwater pumping from the Rio Grande aquifer system, which spans from Cochiti Pueblo to Socorro. This new appropriation of water, if approved, will allow Niagara to pump an additional 500 acre-feet of water a year from our shared aquifer.   

The valley that Los Lunas shares with our communities is an agricultural area. We are rooted in our lands and in farming, not bottling water for big box stores. It’s one thing to use groundwater for local economic development when water use returns resources to our shared systems, as it does in agriculture. But when that groundwater is extracted, bottled and exported by an out-of-state corporation, the water is gone for good, and the negative impact is much worse.  

The Pueblo of Isleta has been farming in the Middle Rio Grande Valley for centuries. Gov. Max Zuni says that the Pueblo has seen firsthand the impact of increased groundwater pumping as water levels drop in the Pueblo’s rangeland wells and flows dwindle in the hydraulically connected Rio Grande.   

Bosque Farms Mayor Ake has also seen his community adapt to the drop in groundwater levels in recent years. He says the aquifer cannot sustain this level of unchecked pumping, not if we want to ensure water for our children, their children, and our great-grandchildren.  

The township of Peralta is a historic community of farmers, which incorporated in 2007 in order to create its own destiny under the banner of “preserving the past for future generations.” The town can’t fulfill the promise if our neighbors sell our groundwater out from under us.   

Niagara portrays itself as economic development for Los Lunas, but in reality, the expanded bottling operations will generate less than 15 new jobs. Furthermore, Los Lunas recently published a draft Water System Master Plan that projects the village’s “available water supply will fall short of demand” in less than 10 years. Giving the green light to Niagara to triple its water use is not the sustainable economic development we need in New Mexico.   

Los Lunas and Niagara entered into their first agreement in 2017. Public records show that Niagara has consistently used more water than allowed under this agreement. Niagara has not answered or been held accountable for those records of overuse, yet it stands before the Los Lunas Village Council asking to pump even more water.    

The process for approving a groundwater transfer this large isn’t always clear to the public. Niagara is seeking to lease the 500 additional acre-feet from a water right held by PNM. The village of Los Lunas is the first step in this process, and must approve the pumping of that groundwater from its wells before the application to transfer the water from PNM to Niagara goes to the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer for approval.   

Some members of the Los Lunas Village Council have incorrectly argued that the decision to allow Niagara to expand isn’t actually their decision to make, attempting to point to the finger instead to the state engineer’s office. The truth is the council can stop Niagara’s expansion now by voting no to this proposal.   

It is true that the state engineer has authority over the distribution of all groundwater in New Mexico and, if Los Lunas allows Niagara’s proposal to move forward, the state engineer will be tasked with approving or denying the water rights transfer from PNM to Niagara.  

Protesting a water transfer is a complex legal and technical process that is stacked against those opposing groundwater pumping proposals like Niagara’s.   

We encourage Los Lunas to consider whether any scant economic benefit generated by Niagara is worth this much risk to our shared, limited, and precious water resources.  

The village of Los Lunas is scheduled to vote on the Niagara proposal at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 8. Our communities urge the village councilors to vote no to bottling our groundwater.    

(Andres Max Zuni is governor of the Pueblo of Isleta. He is a Marine Corps veteran and proud father and grandfather to five daughters, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.   

Mayor Bryan Olguin has served as mayor since 2008. He is a lifelong resident of Peralta whose family dates back centuries. He is a father of three and has nine grandchildren.   

Mayor Wayne Ake has served in the elected leadership of Bosque Farms for decades. He is a retired local business owner and has lived in the Village more than 40 years.)