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Hands were shaken Thursday evening at the Corrales Council Chamber, and bridges were built.
The signing of an agreement related to the operation of the Corrales siphon came after the affected parties acknowledged old wrongs and pledged to work together moving forward.
The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the Pueblo of Sandia came to terms on the agreement, which allows the district access to tribal property for construction work on a replacement siphon.
The siphon directs water from the Rio Grande into an agricultural ditch used by farmers in the Village of Corrales. It was last used during the 2021 irrigation season, MRGCD chief executive Jason Casuga said.
He said a “significant sinkhole” appeared later that year, revealing catastrophic damage to the structure.
In its efforts to repair the siphon, the district sought access to Pueblo land and discovered that it had never obtained the necessary right-of-way.
Pueblo officials asked for acknowledgement of nearly a century of unauthorized use, which Casuga delivered Thursday.
“The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Board of Directors and I acknowledge and understand the hardship this has caused,” he said. “And both the board and I understand the deep importance of land, water and tribal sovereignty to all our tribal partners”
Casuga said the damaged siphon, combined with a prolonged drought, has made things particularly difficult for Corrales farmers, as the pump system the conservancy district had been using didn’t function when the river level got too low.
He said the pueblo has “diligently engaged with the MRGCD” and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to move the process forward as efficiently as possible, while honoring its own decision-making process.
Sandia Pueblo Gov. Felix Chaves committed to being a good neighbor and spoke of the need for collaboration into the future.
“We still got many more years of work to do,” Chaves said. “We’re going to need the support of the village of Corrales with some of our efforts.”
Casuga said construction on the siphon replacement project is expected to begin in January. MRGCD officials say the construction contract includes a one-year time frame until completion, though the contractor believes the work will be done sooner.
“This is a project that will safeguard the cultural heritage of the village of Corrales and support its irrigators for generations to come, and we look forward to its successful completion,” Casuga said.
Casuga said the project is fully funded, with the New Mexico Water Trust Board adding $7.5 million to the $1.5 million committed by the MRGDC.
“The middle valley faces tremendous challenges in the years ahead, particularly related to water,” he said. “The only way we will meet these challenges is through continued partnerships among all our communities.”
The construction will render much of the area — including the so-called Corrales Beach — off-limits.
“We’re going to have big open holes, big boulders for the Bureau of Reclamation,” Casuga said. “So it’s going to be an area that folks want to stay away from.”
After the special meeting, a local group presented an assortment of produce grown in Corrales.