Custom and tradition within the acequia (irrigation ditches) agricultural communities of New Mexico, despite the law that assigns a priority date and implies ownership of water, still govern the use of the water by mayordomo s and commissions, and repartimiento , or water distribution and sharing, is worked out among communities without state oversight.
New Mexico communities have maintained--not preserved--their commons in ways that remain part of our everyday lives:.
Acequia Madre Press ¡no se vende! water as a right of the commons, paperback/kay matthews
