Las Campanas Limited Partnership (LCLP) has used 9,530,000 gallons of water from the City’s Buckman wells in the last seven days to sprinkle irrigate its two private golf courses located outside of the city limits (as reported in tiny print in the SF New Mexican July 4-10).

This is the equivalent of water consumption by 5,900 typical Santa Fe households. Had the City provided this amount of water to city residents and businesses or charged LCLP an average of the current city water rates it would have derived an additional $33,000 for the week.

The greatest source of additional fresh water available to Santa Fe is the water being wasted on LCLP’s private golf courses.

While LCLP is depleting the aquifer at an alarming rate, the City is dithering with it in “going nowhere” mediation. LCLP will not voluntarily agree to change the appearance of its vast acreage of lush greenery that promotes the sale of its lots for $hundreds of thousands each. The City should not agree to provide any water from the Buckman wells to irrigate LCLP’s private golf courses and fill its fast evaporating ornamental lakes.

The City should take the matter directly before the judge of the First Judicial District Court for adjudication and if its lawyers are worth their salt the City should recover Buckman well water for Santa Feans to whom it belongs.

William J. Salman