By Bob Wessely
For the Optic
San Miguel County is acutely aware that the water supply upon which its citizens depend is severely limited.
Variable surface streams, originating from snowmelt, springs, and rainwater runoff, have been used for agricultural and domestic purposes for centuries.
Multiple formation layers of fresh groundwater have been deposited over the millennia, water that is pumped for domestic and agricultural uses. These layers or aquifers are very slowly refreshed by rainwater seepage.