Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
To little surprise, the Arch Hurley Conservancy District’s board of directors voted last week to not allocate any Conchas Lake water to its canal system at this time.
The parched region has seen almost no rain since the district board last met in April. District manager Franklin McCasland stated in his monthly report the lake’s elevation had dropped nearly a foot, to 4,159.7 feet, just before the board’s meeting May 10.
Arch Hurley typically does not discharge water until the lake’s level rises to 4,174 feet.
McCasland reported Conchas Lake received 1,582 acre-feet of inflow in April, with 3,814 acre-feet of evaporation or other losses during the month.
Barring huge amounts of rainfall soon, the district faces the second straight spring and summer of not allocating water to its irrigation canals because of persistent drought.
The district can pump water from the lake using diesel engines but must stop once its level drops to 4,155 feet. Due to the relative lack of water available and high fuel prices, McCasland and the board previously agreed that pumping from the lake would not be feasible.
On Thursday, the U.S. Drought Monitor Maps showed eastern New Mexico was mired in extreme or exceptional drought conditions, especially in the southeast portion. The entire state was experiencing some measure of dry conditions.
In other business:
• McCasland stated in his report the district’s brush trucks and its water transport truck have been serviced and filled with water if the county fire marshal needs help to battle a wildfire.
• McCasland said Love’s Travel Center in Tucumcari will buy nearly 600 feet of irrigation pipe in exchange for the district installing it. The district would remove a dilapidated concrete canal leading to the truck stop, then bury the pipe. He said the work would take only one to two days, and the salvaged concrete could be used as riprap elsewhere in the district.
• The board voted to continue its membership with the Eastern Plains Council of Governments for $250 a year. McCasland said the entity helps the district with information on capital outlay requests, holds legislative forums and assists with other issues.
“They are an asset,” McCasland said.