Protect Tesuque, New Mexico
Taking Action to Protect Our Drinking Water
Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts along with their landowner, Juniper Capital, are seeking approval from the state of New Mexico for a waste disposal permit to dump partially-treated sewage from 80+ homes and the resort itself into an undersized disposal field that is dangerously close to the Little Tesuque Creek and the aquifer. This plan poses a serious threat to the water supply of our community and the entire Tesuque region and violates laws that were specifically created to protect the aquifers of New Mexico. This is why Protect Tesuque sprung up as a grassroots movement fully committed to ensuring clean water for our community.
Protect Tesuque contends that this plan, and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) review process, bypasses the strict health and safety safeguards required by the more protective Liquid Waste Disposal and Treatment (LWDT) regulations passed under the Environmental Improvement Act of 1971. We argue that NMED is instead applying older, weaker Ground and Surface Water Protection (GSWP) regulations that allow contamination to occur up to certain thresholds—rather than preventing it altogether.
Learn more about our process and progress on our About Us and FAQ pages.
Support the movement to act locally and impact globally. Our success can serve as a template for other communities facing increasing similar challenges. Together, we can create a healthier planet!
Our Goals
Stop The Dumping
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Stop Bishop’s Lodge, Auberge Resorts and the Bishop’s Lodge Hills and Villas from contaminating our drinking water.
Protect Our Water
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Ensure immediate adoption of an environmentally sound solution for the disposal of the sewage generated by the Resort and the Hills and Villas.
Ensure Our Future
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Secure prompt adoption and enforcement by County and State governments of suitable sewage and waste disposal regulations to protect the quality and viability of Tesuque Basin’s drinking water, acequias and ecosystem.
How You Can Help
Donate Now & Often
Donations are urgently needed to pay for the legal and hydrology expertise needed to stop Bishop’s Lodge and Auberge Resorts from contaminating our drinking water and to support our three objectives above.
Join the Weekly Protests
If you would like to join the Tesuque community members protests, email tesuqueq@gmail.com for the schedule.
Contact State Elected Officials
Demand that NMED is held accountable to follow the state Liquid Waste Disposal Regulations.
Spread the Word
Share what is happening with others being affected and who care. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube and join our our email list to stay up to date.
100% of Your Donations Help Protect Water
Protect Tesuque is a 501(c)(3) non profit corporation. All donations regardless of size are deeply appreciated and tax deductible.
Donate online, or mail a check payable to: Protect Tesuque
P.O. Box #446 · Tesuque, NM 87574
IRS EIN# 99-4221728
Why the Proposed Leach Field is Dangerous
Bishop’s Lodge Resort’s new low pressure disposal system to discharge partially treated waste sits atop alluvial soils at the corner of their property and adjacent to the Little Tesuque Creek. According to NMED, the soils affected at the discharge site could overlap with the water table. The Little Tesuque Creek flows seasonally feeding into the Big Tesuque Creek which continues downstream through the valley and through four Pueblos. The water treatment plant is also located within a FEMA flood zone.
Based on a variety of environmental conditions, including the elevation, the gradient of subsurface water and the surrounding topography, all water contamination from Bishop’s Lodge Resort will flow away from the Resort and directly toward the drinking wells of hundreds of downstream neighbors. These wells are the only source of water for the residents of the Valley.
Land Acknowledgment
As a watershed protection organization, Protect Tesuque recognizes the long, continuing stewardship of this land by its First Peoples.
The Tewa name for Santa Fe is O’ga P’oghe Owingeh, meaning White Shell Water Place, and Tesuque Pueblo is Tay Sugeh Owingeh, meaning village of the narrow place of the cottonwood trees.
We are grateful for their guidance, and may we all continue to build in friendship as our local communities work together to protect this watershed from the immediate and future land development issues that we face.