U.S. Water News Online
SANTA FE -- An upscale Santa Fe-area development whose golf courses had been using about 10 percent of the water produced by the city's utility has agreed to cut back.
Under an agreement reached recently, Las Campanas' golf courses will be limited to 6 million gallons a week, just over 857,000 gallons a day. The luxury development northwest of the city limits had been using 1 million to 1.5 million gallons per day on the golf courses.
The city and Santa Fe County last year sued Las Campanas to determine whether it had to follow emergency water restrictions imposed on other water system users.
A trial is scheduled Oct. 14.
The agreement will be in force until Oct. 31. Both sides said they hoped a judge would rule in the lawsuit by then.
The partnership that runs the development contends it does not have to follow the same restrictions as other water users because it made agreements for its water with earlier city and county representatives.
Las Campanas and city officials disagreed over language in the agreements that requires Las Campanas to share in cutbacks when water is scarce.
The dispute came to a head recently when Mark Sheridan, the city's attorney, sought to reduce Las Campanas' golf-course irrigation to 3.6 million gallons a week, or 514,285 gallons a day.
Sheridan said he calculated the amount based on a recent ruling by state District Judge Jim Hall that Las Campanas' allocations could be figured ``by assuming it is subject to'' emergency water restrictions.
Las Campanas protested, saying the reduction would kill or damage its 160 acres of fairways, greens and tees. Company attorney Charles DuMars asked Hall for a temporary restraining order to prevent the city's ``unilateral action.'' Sheridan and DuMars have told the judge they had compromised on 6 million gallons a week through the end of October. That amount does not include the 200,000 to 250,000 gallons a day used by Las Campanas' 450 homes, about 30 more homes under construction or its restaurants, spa, swimming pools and horse stables.
``While we do not agree that they are entitled to 6 million gallons a week by any stretch we saw this as a compromise that we can live with pending a trial on the merits,'' Sheridan said.
Las Campanas vice president for engineering Mike Sanderson said the amount ``is sufficient to maintain our golf and other business operations through the rest of the summer and fall.'' Other company officials said the reduction means Las Campanas will be using about the same amount as last summer.
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