SAN JUAN RIVER BASIN ADJUDICATION HISTORY

The District Court in the 11^th Judicial District has instituted a water law division for the purpose of resolving all water claims and disputes arising within the 11^th Judicial District, specifically, the San Juan River Drainage.

There are hundreds, even thousands of water claimants in the San Juan River Basin. Many of these claimants are known to the Office of the State Engineer, others are not. Locating and communicating with such a vast number of water claimants, indeed, is a difficult task. The 11^th Judicial District Court has established a web-site in an attempt to communicate with water claimants and interested parties. The purpose of the web-site is to keep parties and the general public informed on what is happening in this water adjudication case. The Court encourages use of the web-site as a tool to stay informed, as details may be added daily.

The history of the present law suit is two fold and begins with a suit filed October 4, 1937, involving the Echo Ditch Company, et al, vs The McDermott Ditch Company, et al, no 01690. On April 8, 1948, the final decree in the Echo Ditch Company case was filed in the District Court of Santa Fe. That decree is commonly referred to as the "Echo Ditch Decree". The current lawsuit is titled, STATE OF NEW MEXICO, ex rel OFFICE OF THE STATE ENGINEER vs UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al, as defendants and JICARILLA APACHE NATION AND NAVAJO NATION , as intervenors. The Echo Ditch Decree is very comprehensive and exhaustive, however the lawsuit did not include the United States of America nor any of the autonomous tribal nations as parties. The Office of the State Engineer filed the current lawsuit to adjudicate their water rights.

The basic questions is who owns water?

According to the New Mexico State Constitution article XVI Section 1., all existing rights to the use of any waters, for any useful or beneficial purpose, before the adoption of the New Mexico State Constitution are recognized and confirmed. Unappropriated water of every natural stream, perennial or torrential, belongs to the public and is subject to appropriation for beneficial use according to the laws of the state. Priority of appropriation shall give the better right. One of the purposes of the adjudication law suit is to determine if there is any new unappropriated water currently available. Beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure and the limit of the right to the use of water. Claimed ownership of water maybe without merit unless it can show that the water has been put to beneficial use. The use of water, even though vested, may be lost. This is a complicated phase of New Mexico water law.

Prior to 1952 lawsuits involving the federal government or autonomous tribal nations, involving water adjudication had to be tried in the Federal Courts. In 1952 the United States Congress amended the Department of Justice Appropriation Act. The amendment became known as the McCarran Amendment which waived federal immunity in judicial water adjudication cases and provided consent of the United States to be joined in state water adjudication courts.

On March 13, 1975 the current lawsuit was filed by the State of New Mexico. There were many unanswered questions in the McCarran Amendment and as a result, the case file reflects clarification by attempting to remove the case to the Federal Court. The case was ultimately returned to the 11^th Judicial District Court.

The Court on February 24, 1999, filed a "Partial Final Judgment and Decree of the Water Rights of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe".