The Santo Domingo Pueblo is located south of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of eight Pueblos located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The majority of the Pueblo's population (4,000) and commercial development is located in the village of Santo Domingo. The village relies on two public supply wells from an aquifer in the Rio Grande Valley. There is generally poor water quality, although not a health hazard, because of dissolved salts. USEPA is empowered to assist tribes in wellhead protection, which Region 6 did for the Santo Domingo Pueblo in a pilot program. The Wellhead Protection Program represents efforts by a tribe to protect ground water quality on and off tribal lands, via development of a joint powers agreement with the State of New Mexico. The pilot program focused on delineation of wellhead protection areas for existing wells as well as on training Pueblo officials in delineation and wellhead protection measures. The Pueblo has taken the pilot program recommendations seriously and developed several ground water protection strategies. An ordinance was developed to prohibit solid waste disposal except in authorized locations. It also prohibits future landfills near the Rio Grande or in areas with shallow depths to ground water. The methodology and recommendations from the pilot study may be transferable to other tribal lands in the southwestern United States.

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