Ralph Vigil Explains the Origins of Acequia

Acequia is a community-based, community-operated irrigation system. Users, the property owners along the acequias, come together and determine it's a one-property, one-vote process. They decide who the "mayordomo" will be. The mayordomo determines the allocation of water, including when you receive it, how many days you'll get it, and the amount. The mayordomo is also the person who resolves any disagreements or disputes between landowners. No one is more important than another, whether you own one acre or a hundred. In the acequia, we are equals, bound together by water, land, and tradition.