LOCAL

Preparations set to begin for 2018 Rio Grande season

Sun-News Reports
Las Cruces Sun-News
The Elephant Butte Irrigation District ended its water season Sept. 30, 2017, prompting the appearance of more sandbars in the Rio Grande near Las Cruces. After an irrigation district in El Paso ends its season next week, the Rio Grande will dry up for the winter. The Rio Grande is shown here from the Black Bridge, on Monday Oct. 9, 2017, with the Organ Mountains in the background.

LAS CRUCES - The first water flow of 2018 in the Rio Grande Project is set to begin this week in preparation for the upcoming irrigation season.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will begin releases from Elephant Butte Dam at 8 a.m. Friday, Feb. 23 to move water to the smaller, adjacent Caballo Reservoir.

Water delivery from Caballo Dam is scheduled to begin on March 16 with a release of 500 cubic feet per second, according to the bureau. That release will increase to 2,100 cubic feet per second by 10 a.m. This water will make its way south, filling a dry Rio Grande riverbed for the first time this year. 

The public is asked to stay out of the river channels for their safety. Flows will fluctuate through the spring and summer months according to downstream irrigation demands.

The Rio Grande Project supplies water to farmland in the Elephant Butte Irrigation District in southern New Mexico and in the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 in far west Texas. The Rio Grande Project also delivers water to Mexico in accordance with a 1906 international treaty.

The EBID board in January set a tentative start date for its irrigation season. It will begin drawing water from the river between May 1 and May 15. The date will be refined later on, and information will be released as it becomes available. An allotment of 8 acre-inches is planned.

In addition, water from the project is used for municipal and industrial purposes by the city of El Paso. Although irrigation storage and delivery is the primary purpose for Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs, Elephant Butte releases are also used to produce hydroelectric power. Recreation is also a secondary benefit of both Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs.

Due to a minimal snowpack in the mountains feeding the Rio Grande, little inflow is forecast for Elephant Butte this spring. Reclamation will provide periodic updates on expected levels at the reservoirs.