Elephant Butte Dam was built in 1916 to store water flowing from northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. But more 100 years later, with increasing temperatures and a growing number of users… water managers are working to address the same supply challenges the dam was built to resolve.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAzfS95Atk0&feature=youtu.be
The Elephant Butte dam was one of the first big engineering projects out west.
Before construction, the Lower Rio Grande was a harsh and arid desert terrain that didn’t allow for much farming.
“Mostly just some rural Indians and some farmers- but the farmers were really limited to how much they could grow because of the limited grow season and moisture available.” Jesse Higgins said.
Higgins is the dam site managers.
The construction of the 306-foot tall Elephant Butte dam turned the severe desert lands south of it into the most fruitful agricultural region in New Mexico.
“The government came in and said we will build this dam, whatever area you can clear down towards Hatch and Old Mesilla and Cruces. That area they gave to the people- they said as much land as you can clear.” Higgins said.
“There are stories of families with six or seven boys in their family, well they can clear a bunch of land and that is something your big farmers down in Hatch are still have.”
Higgins said when he was younger he can remember the dam filled to the brim. He said at times it looked like it was going to spill up over the lip.
Now, the water levels rest below rings visible around the shore of the lake; today it is only 12% full.
https://waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/elephant-butte
Phil King is a Consultant with the Elephant Butte Irrigation District. It delivers water to as many as 7,000 farmers in New Mexico. King said the demand for water has surpassed the dam supply and that supply is only diminishing with rising temperatures.
“It has been brutal year, after year, after year” King said “It is a permanent shift toward a more arid climate and that is a reality we are looking at ”
King said wetter conditions in the past allowed for agriculture that may not be sustainable today or into the future. A 2015 NASA climate study projects a harsher drought on the horizon that could last 30 years.
“We developed an appetite for water during the 80s and 90s which was this ridiculously wet period.” We have got all this acreage of Pecans and alfalfa which consumes a lot of water and depletes a lot of water.”
King said growing municipalities and industrial development in the Lower Rio Grande valley poses a challenge to the sustainability of farming the region.
“They are going to have to go somewhere for their water and presumably that would be into the valley-where right now the surface water is used for agriculture.”
King said he is working with economic developers to diversify the region’s water sources. The irrigation district is testing the feasibility of a desalination plant that could supply water for industrial use in Santa Teresa.
“So that does protect the supply for agriculture as well and that is why EBID (Elephant Butte Irrigation, District) is interested in it.” King said.
While that research, development and construction is likely to take more than 10 years…. King says industrial users and municipalities are already tapping groundwater farmers use to irrigate when surface water allocations are lower.
Elephant Butte Irrigation District recently launched DROP; the depletion reduction offset program to mitigate the industrial and residential impact on the continued feasibility of farming. The program allows users to offset their water use and lease water from farmers.
“They do own some water, but there has not been a mechanism for them to be able to offset their impacts before. What they would do is enter into contracts with EBID farmers to fallow agricultural land.”
King said
these go some way to mitigate the ongoing challenge of demand far exceeding water supplies in the southwest. But there are always challenges.“This is not the panacea- for the problems down here.” King said “There are always issues that come up.” King said “You naively think; if I can just get this problems solved we won’t have any more problems but that just isn’t the case. It is like every year springs a new crop, every year springs new problems.’
King said.