Acequia, a Spanish word meaning “the water conduit,” refers to community operated watercourses used in Spain and Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation purposes. These engineered canals carry river water and snow runoff to distant fields and have operated effectively in New Mexico for 300 years.
Acequias still run in Santa Fe today, most notably the Acequia Madre, or “Mother Ditch,” that runs along the street that bears its name in the Historic Eastside section of town.
Click on the link below to read more about the Acequia Madre’s history and current day use: