CE547 Analysis of “Greenness” of Parcels that Have Sold Off Water Rights

Appendix B– Pertinent Terms

What is a water right?

A water right is the legal right to put a certain amount of water to beneficial use. In New Mexico, which governs water use by the principle of prior appropriation, the party which puts water to beneficial use earliest has the senior or priority right. Those who begin using water at a later date have junior rights.

At the present time, the Rio Grande is said to be fully appropriated, which means that all surface water in the river belongs to somebody.

Since agriculture in New Mexico typically depends on irrigation, one must not only own land, but must obtain a “water right” in order to farm. The same holds true for municipalities and anyone who needs to use water.

The Office of the State Engineer oversees the permitting and recording of water rights.

What is an acre-foot?

Water rights are typically measured in acre-feet. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre to a depth of one foot, approximately 386,000 gallons.

What is a water right transfer?

Water rights can be sold and transferred. When a water right is transferred, the original parcel of land cannot be watered unless the owner obtains another surface water right or drills a well. Thus, land without water rights would eventually revert to a desert condition.

What is NDVI?

NDVI stands for normalized difference vegetation index. NDVI is a measure of vegetation greenness using the green to red and near infra-red portions of the light spectrum. NDVI can be calculated using channels 3 and 4 of Landsat7 satellite data. For more information visit http://www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/definitions/NDVI.html.