Rivers and Streams

Acequias are community-run waterways used for irrigation in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas. They are complex systems that address various productive, social, and health demands. The oldest form of European resource management in the United States is the traditional acequia governance, established by Spanish settlers over 400 years ago. Acequias are filled with snow melt and rain to irrigate agricultural fields and hold great value for Indigenous and Non Native populations in New Mexico and Colorado.

The Spanish acequias, typically associated with Arabian settlements of the Iberian Peninsula, may have improved on existing irrigation systems dating back to Roman times. Cultural influences, particularly from Arabians, had an impact on agricultural planning and colonization techniques. The Spanish and Portuguese adopted acequias, also called levadas, and employed them throughout their colonies. Similar constructions were found in Mendoza and San Juan, Argentina, where acequias flow alongside city streets. However, Indigenous Huarpes excavated these acequias before the advent of the Spaniards.

Acequias have changed throughout time to minimize misuse and under-maintenance. The oldest acequias in the United States, established over 400 years ago by Spanish colonies, continue to provide water for farming and ranching in the Upper Rio Grande watershed in northern New Mexico and south-central Colorado. Researchers at Colorado College discovered that acequia farms provide critical environmental and economic benefits to their communities, such as soil conservation, terrestrial wildlife habitat, water quality, fish habitat, domesticated biodiversity, and a strong land and water ethic.