Ditch Democracy: Northern New Mexico's Acequia Culture

Ditch Democracy: Northern New Mexico's Acequia Culture

All photos by Ilana Newman.One of the first things you notice when you enter Taos County, New Mexico is the water. Driving into the county from the south, you’ll follow the Rio Grande through its canyon, as it heads down towards Santa Fe and Albuquerque, carrying drinking water for the rest of the state and continuing on toward the Mexican border. You might also notice that the land is crisscrossed by ditches. These ditches, called acequias, tur…