People along the Santa Fe River have shared water for thousands of years. In this dry landscape, sharing water and protecting community water rights have remained essential. The earliest caravans on El Camino Real relied on the river and nearby natural springs, and later settlers expanded their options by diverting water into acequias, digging wells, and laying water pipes in the village. Before piped water, water was hauled from a central source by pack animals or carts. Pumping it by hand and carrying it home was hard work. In Agua Fría, acequias and family plots formed a long-standing pattern of land and water use, and descendants of many original families still own these properties. In 1869, families of Agua Fría petitioned William T. Thornton, governor of the New Mexico Territory, for protection of their water rights. They wrote that many families and animals were suffering because the Santa Fe Water Company was diverting Santa Fe River water that they said they had held an irrevocable privilege to use since their ancestors' time. Water rights remain a major concern throughout the region. Today, a large tank across the river stores water for the Traditional Historic Community of Agua Fría, and the village manages its own water system in cooperation with other regional authorities.