User:LizaFranqFrog/Acequia


 * An acequia (Spanish: [aˈθekja]) or séquia (Catalan: [ˈsɛkia]) is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Particularly in Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and the modern-day American Southwest particularly northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, acequias are usually historically engineered canals that carry snow runoff or river water to distant fields. The hydrology of acequias benefit the ecological health, farming production, and maintaining groundwater levels.
 * Examples of acequias in New Mexico have lengthy historical roots to Pueblo and Hispano communities, and they are incorporated into traditions including the Matachines, life in the Rio Grande Bosque of the Albuquerque metropolitan area, and pilgrimages to El Santuario de Chimayo.
 * The majority are simple open ditches with dirt banks. In many communities the ditchbanks are important routes for non-motorized travel.[citation needed]
 * A recent agent-based model show the possible extinction of this type of agriculture depends on the future rates and weather patterns.
 * Add an "Etymology" section before "Overview"
 * Change "Overview" section to "History"
 * New section "Governance"
 * New section "The Future of Acequias"
 * The future of Acequias will be determined by how local communities and the wider world are able to address and respond to challenges such as water scarcity, climate crisis, and the commodification of water. Many communities in northern New Mexico, that have relied on these systems for years, are facing increased stressors due to climate change.
 * As the global population rises humans become increasingly concentrated in urban areas. Rural areas are often forsaken for cities and this poses a significant threat to acequias and their longevity.

Lead
An acequia (Spanish: [aˈθekja]) or séquia (Catalan: [ˈsɛkia]) is a human-engineered system of ditches and canals that draws water from snow runoff or rivers to irrigate agricultural fields. '''Acequias can be found in Spain and Iberia, the Andes, northern Mexico, and in the American Southwest, particularly northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The unique hydrology of acequias confer many benefits on the surrounding landscape, such as improved ecological health, increased farm production, and the maintenance of groundwater levels.  Acequias have deep cultural significance for many Indigenous and Native communities in New Mexico and Colorado.'''



Etymology
The Spanish word acequia (and the Catalan word séquia) originate from Arabic word al-sāqiyah (لاساقیة) which has more than one meaning: "the water conduit" or "one that bears water" as well as 'bartender' (from ‏سَقَى‎ saqā, "to give water, drink"), and also refers to a type of water wheel.