In the Río Culebra Villages of arid, desert southern Colorado, el agua es vida: Water is life.

The crux of ranching and farming is snowmelt and any supplemental rain. Natural waterways wind from the canyons through the desert terrain. The acequia system taps into these creeks and streams with a series of earthen and concrete-lined ditches that bring water to fields. Dug by settlers in the mid-1800s, acequias are physically cleaned, repaired and maintained by water rights holders. Today, many of those people are descendants of area settlers.

Read the full story: https://www.rmpbs.org/blogs/rocky-mountain-pbs/rio-culebra-watershed-part-2/