Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Prospects dimmed for the Arch Hurley Conservation District to allocate water to area farmers this spring as Conchas Lake’s levels continued to stagnate due to drought.
During the district’s regular board meeting last week, district manager Franklin McCasland reported the lake’s level was 4,160 feet — slightly lower than the 4,160.4 feet reported the previous month. Conchas Lake received 354 acre-feet of inflow in February, with 1,073 acre-feet of evaporation or other losses, he said.
The Arch Hurley district typically does not allocate water unless the lake is at 4,174 feet or higher.
The district faces a second straight year of not releasing water due to dry conditions.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday, almost all of Quay County remains in “extreme drought” conditions. Most of New Mexico was in exceptional, extreme or severe drought conditions.
Also, sharply rising fuel costs primarily due to the war in Ukraine remained a significant topic of discussion for board members.
McCasland stated in his monthly report those fuel costs and other inflationary pressures “will make this challenging in forecasting expenditures” for the forthcoming 2023 budget.
He said the district will “do the best we can” to not raise assessments but conceded the possibility of amendments.
Because of those higher costs, McCasland said a planned rebuild of the tracks of the district’s John Deere excavator may be delayed to next year “depending on the water situation,” McCasland said. The machine’s three main hydraulic cylinders are leaking excessive fluid, and the estimated cost to repair them is $3,000.
Also because of higher fuel costs, the board voted to not burn tumbleweeds and other brush in its irrigation canals until more water comes into the lake.
Several board members noted the updraft from burning brush and wind could blow burning tumbleweeds into nearby parched fields. McCasland also said such an operation also would require hiring two more employees to have enough people to man the water and fuel trucks.
A safer alternative is to simply loose water into the canals when the lake’s level is high enough, flushing out the tumbleweeds.
McCasland also said pumping water from Conchas Lake into the canals was not a viable alternative to usual water allocations. He said the lake’s level was too low to get more than a week’s worth of water, and the cost of diesel to run the pumps would exceed any revenue.
In other business:
• The board approved a resolution stating its support for the Logan branch of New Mexico Bank & Trust. The company that owns the branch announced it would close it in June, affecting customers in the village and in neighboring Harding and Union counties.
Local officials are lobbying to have New Mexico Bank & Trust reconsider or delay the closing until another bank can open in Logan.
• McCasland reported AT&T recently upgraded its service from 3G to 5G, rendering useless the cellphones of several district employees. AT&T encouraged the district to upgrade to iPhones, but he said they are too expensive. McCasland said he is “looking at other options,” including a new carrier, for employee cellphone service.
• McCasland said delivery of a new Bobcat track loader to the district probably won’t occur until summer or fall because the company still is awaiting parts.
• McCasland said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to inspect the district’s five tunnels later this year. He said the bureau’s requested preparations to the district for the inspections were too unwieldy or expensive.
• The New Mexico Legislature awarded the district $30,000 in capital outlay funds during its recent 30-day session. The district had requested $50,000 for equipment, McCasland said.
• McCasland said two election bills, including one that might affect Arch Hurley, failed to advance during the legislature’s session.