Ancestral Puebloan peoples developed ingenious methods to collect, store, conserve, and utilize water. Their survival in the arid Southwest depended on an intimate understanding of rainfall cycles, seasonal streams, and natural catchments, which they adapted into sustainable systems for agricultural and home uses.
One of the most common strategies was the construction of check dams and stone terraces across small washes and slopes. These slowed runoff during summer rains, reducing erosion while allowing water to seep into the soil. The retained moisture nourished maize, beans, and squash, the core of Puebloan agriculture.
In some areas, such as Chaco Canyon, communities built diversion dams and canals to redirect seasonal floodwaters toward fields, expanding cultivation beyond what natural rainfall could support.
Storage was another crucial innovation. Ancestral Puebloans carved cisterns into sandstone bedrock and built sandstone walled reservoirs to hold precious rainwater. At places like Mesa Verde in Colorado and Bandelier in New Mexico, archaeologists have documented plastered tanks some believe were designed to reduce seepage and evaporation, ensuring water security during dry months. In multi-story pueblos, catchment systems directed rooftop rainwater into storage basins.
Water management was more than technology, it reflected a cultural ethic of balance. The Ancestral Puebloans’ legacy continues to inform water management in Pueblo communities today.
This Earth Note was written by Carrie Calisay Cannon and produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.
