This
Acequia Madre, Mother Ditch, is the main irrigation canal diverting water from a
stream. This one is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in
Washington, D.C.
Acequias, which refers to both irrigation ditches and the community of farmers organized
around them, have been called the lifeblood of northern New Mexico. Acequia waters
flow gently across the land, working with the simple force of gravity, to nourish
commnities and fields like the bloof that flows through our bodies. Predecessors of
acequias, developed thousands of years ago in the Indus Valley of South Asia, were based
on the human circulatory system. Larger arteries split into smaller vessels and
eventually into capillaries that flows to water every corner of the farmland.
For futher information, check the web site www.nmacequias.org,
e-mail nmaa@nmacequias.org, or write to the New
Mexico Acequia Association, P.O. Box 1229, Santa Cruz, NM 87567, or The New Mexico Acequia
Commission, P.O. Box 190, Velarde, NM 87582 (852-2600).
July 2000
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