Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Feds warn of early end to Rio Grande irrigation

Federal water managers on Tuesday warned that the irrigation season for farmers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley soon will be over. The flow between Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs ended Monday, meaning the shortest irrigation season in the history of the Rio Grande Project quickly will be coming to an end. The Bureau of Reclamation said no further releases were scheduled, and the Rio Grande south of Elephant Butte was expected to start drying up. "We're breaking all the records now of the 1950s and the '60s droughts. It's just not a good year," said Gary Esslinger, manager of the Elephant Butte Irrigation District. "We do have some signs of the monsoons starting but nothing that's been any significant help to us." Reservoirs around the state have been shrinking due to a stubborn drought that has plagued New Mexico for the past three years. In fact, the latest federal maps show no other place in the country is dealing with as much exceptional drought as New Mexico. Elephant Butte, the state's largest reservoir, has reached a historic 40-year low, according to federal water managers. The reservoir's level stands at just 3 percent of its total storage capacity...more




Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/07/09/4991773/feds-warn-of-early-end-to-rio.html#storylink=cpy

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