Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Despite ample rainfall in recent weeks, the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors declined to allocate any water to farmers during a special meeting Monday.
Board President Robert Lopez said he called the special meeting because corn farmers faced a June 15 deadline to file for a drought insurance claim. The deadline for similar claims for cotton farmers was May 31.
Lopez and district manager Franklin McCasland said Conchas Lake had just 3 inches of water available for the district’s irrigation canals — a minimal amount for the growing season.
A typical allocation would be about 18 inches of water from the lake.
Lopez said most farmers — including all but two of the 15 who attended Monday’s meeting — said they want to conserve water in the lake for now.
“We have to stair-step this lake back up, or it will always be empty,” he said.
The Arch Hurley board is scheduled to hold its regular meeting on June 13.
According to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data, the lake’s elevation was 4,172.6 feet and rising on Monday morning. The district typically doesn’t allocate water until it reaches 4,174 feet.
Both Conchas Lake and Ute Lake have risen more than 10 feet in less than a month because of persistent and sometimes torrential rain.
Drought conditions have eased in the region, but the U.S. Drought Monitor Map of May 30 shows the eastern third of New Mexico to still be in severe, moderate or abnormally dry conditions.