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<br />Water Management Study: Upper Rio Grande Basin <br /> <br />the continuation of their acres to water supply, if a new use deprives the <br />senior water right of the use of its appropriated supply, the senior could <br />initiate action, pursuant to state law, to stop the injury. !fan alternative <br />source of water is provided through augmentation to fulfill the senior's <br />demand for water, no injury would occur and the new use could continue <br />(David W. Robbins, comment on draft report). <br /> <br />Augmentation can be important because the basic rules of prior <br />appropriation, and specifically the rule that prohibits changes of use that <br />affect junior downstream appropriators, do not apply to the foreign <br />(imported) water. Thus, once foreign water is brought to the designated <br />place at the designated time, it can be re-used or used in a different way <br />without jumping through all the hoops that otherwise would apply. <br /> <br />New Mexico. The State Engineer's Office (SEO) governs surface water <br />rights in New Mexico, operating under the following constitutional and <br />statutory principles: <br /> <br />f; <br /> <br />1. The unappropriated water of every natural stream, perennial or <br />torrential, within the state of New Mexico, belongs to the public and is <br />subject to appropriation for beneficial use in accordance with the laws of <br />the state. <br /> <br />I: <br /> <br />2. Beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right <br />to the use of water. <br /> <br />f? <br /> <br />3. Priority of appropriation shall give the better right. <br /> <br />4. New appropriations shall not impair any existing water right. <br /> <br />5. Appropriation should not be detrimental to the public welfare or contrary <br />to conservation of water. <br /> <br />ic.' <br /> <br />':. <br />, <br /> <br />In New Mexico, beneficial use means, in essence, that the water must be <br />taken from the main channel, for domestic, agricultural, industrial, <br />commercial, or any other purpose defined as beneficial by the SEO. <br />Beneficial use also means that a claimant must use his diversion responsibly <br />and use only the amount of water necessary to accomplish the purpose for <br />which the appropriation was made (308 P.2d 983, 987 N.M.1957). New <br />Mexico's water rights are generally fixed with respect to the time, location, <br />and rate of diversion from the channel. New Mexico does not recognize <br /> <br />i< 2896 <br /> <br />t: <br /> <br />~~ <br /> <br />~ <br />t <br /> <br />16 <br /> <br />t <br />