Santa Fe archbishop urges ‘moral choices’ on water as reservoir levels shrink to historic lows
Santa Fe, New Mexico, Archbishop John Wester is urging the faithful to come to a full appreciation of the “gift of water,” with the archbishop’s message coming amid historic droughts and low water levels in the western state.
4 days ago
Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe is calling for greater religious, civic, and personal responsibility toward water as New Mexico faces severe drought and historically depleted reservoirs. His pastoral letter connects water conservation with Catholic teachings on stewardship, justice, and care for vulnerable communities, while also addressing pollution and groundwater depletion. 1
Wester’s pastoral letter, “Uniting for Our Sacred Waters,” was released amid worsening concerns about water supplies across New Mexico. The state’s largest reservoir, Elephant Butte, fell to approximately 1.4% of capacity, its lowest level since 1971, after persistent drought and early snowmelt. 1
The archbishop urged Catholics to develop an “appreciation for the gift of water” and to recognize water as a resource shared by people, wildlife, and the wider environment. 1
Wester emphasized the connection between water and Catholic practice, noting that Catholics use water when blessing themselves and in other religious rituals. He called on believers to reflect on their relationship with local waters and their responsibility to protect, conserve, and restore them. 1
Drawing on Pope Francis’ environmental teaching in Laudato Si’, Wester warned of the risk of an increasingly severe global water shortage. He said society must make “moral choices” that equitably protect people, water, land, and wildlife. 1
Pope Leo XIV has also highlighted water in a recent prayer intention, describing clean water as a blessing and noting that one-quarter of the world’s population lacks access to safe drinking water. He called for both prayer and action to address the crisis. 1
The archbishop criticized the squandering of water in New Mexico, including the depletion of groundwater supplies. He also raised concerns about contamination of aquifers linked to local military activity and nuclear-weapons laboratories. 1
Wester called on public authorities to hold polluters accountable and protect water sources from future contamination. He encouraged individuals to respond through their personal behavior, spiritual lives, civic engagement, and political action. 1
The water letter continues Wester’s public advocacy on environmental and nuclear issues. In May, he opposed expansion of plutonium-pit production by the National Nuclear Security Administration, calling nuclear weapons immoral and genocidal. 1
In June, he criticized the idea of a “just” nuclear war and expressed concern about the lack of progress toward nuclear disarmament. 1
Wester belongs to the Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, a coalition that includes Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle, Archbishop Peter Nakamura of Nagasaki, and Bishop Alexis Shirahama of Hiroshima. Their dioceses and archdioceses have significant historical or current connections to nuclear technology and the development or use of nuclear weapons. 1*
Assess Catholic teachings on stewardship of scarce water resources
Catholic teaching treats scarce water as a matter of justice, human dignity, and stewardship, not merely as an economic resource. Water may be managed through markets and private participation, but no system may subordinate basic access—especially for the poor—to profit.
Because water is essential for life, every person has a right to safe drinking water. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church grounds this right in the universal destination of goods: creation is intended for the good of all, and water is indispensable for survival.
This right is based on human dignity, not on purchasing power or a quantitative assessment of economic value. Therefore, policies that leave people without drinkable water, sanitation, or basic hygiene are morally unacceptable, even if they are legally or economically defensible.
Water policy should first serve drinking, sanitation, health, food, and the needs of vulnerable communities. Lack of safe water contributes to disease, poverty, conflict, suffering, and death, so water management must be judged by its effects on human life and dignity.
This does not mean that agriculture, industry, or commercial uses are illegitimate. It means they must be ordered toward the common good and must not exhaust supplies or displace people’s essential access. Fresh water supports ecosystems as well as health, agriculture, and industry; in many places demand already exceeds sustainable supply.
Human beings are genuine stewards of creation, not its absolute masters. They may use nature and develop it through technology, but they must preserve it and transmit it responsibly to future generations.
Applied to water, this requires:
Waste is not merely inefficient. In conditions of grave inequality, it becomes a social and moral issue because abundant consumption by some can coexist with life-threatening deprivation for others.
The primary responsibility for managing water resources rests with governments. They must establish fair regulation, protect access, supervise providers, prevent pollution, and ensure infrastructure for extraction, treatment, and conservation.
Catholic teaching does not require that every water service be publicly owned. It does, however, warn against treating water merely as a commodity governed solely by market laws. Pope Francis identifies privatization that disregards the poor as a serious danger, while Benedict XVI calls for a balanced cooperation between public and private sectors governed by solidarity and responsibility.
Thus, charging for water or involving private providers can be morally legitimate when it supports reliable service and conservation, provided that:
The available texts do not prescribe one universally binding model—public ownership, regulated private provision, or a mixed system. They establish moral criteria by which any model must be evaluated.
Water scarcity disproportionately harms poor communities, vulnerable workers, rural populations, and regions affected by drought or climate change. Catholic social teaching therefore calls for solidarity across communities and nations, including investment and assistance for poorer countries.
This also involves intergenerational justice: present users have duties toward children and future generations. Environmental degradation and depleted resources must not be treated as someone else’s problem.
Individuals should practice moderation, avoid waste, support conservation, and make consumption choices consistent with the needs of others. The Church also calls for an “ecological conversion”: allowing faith in Christ to shape one’s relationship with the created world.
But Catholic teaching does not reduce the issue to personal lifestyle alone. Because water systems involve law, infrastructure, industry, agriculture, and international relations, citizens also have a responsibility to support sound policies and hold political and economic authorities accountable.
Catholic teaching offers a balanced position:
The central moral test is whether water governance respects human dignity, serves the common good, protects creation, and ensures that the vulnerable are not denied what is necessary to live.