Agreement sought to reduce drain on aquifer

The Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy, along with other members of the Clovis-Curry County community, have been working to forge an agreement with 10 farmers who own land to the north and west of Cannon Air Force Base. The mission is to take the water in the aquifer accessed by their wells out of production for irrigation for three years.

An agreement is expected to be reached before the end of July.

The farmers would be paid to conserve the water in their wells, using only enough water for dryland farming, cattle grazing and personal use.

The water table in these 53 wells in the High Plains Ogallala Aquifer has been declining and lost 20 percent of its capacity from 2017 to 2022, said Ladona Clayton, executive director of the Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy. By taking most of the well water out of production, the aquifer would rest and recharge.

“The Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy (OLWC) was created specifically as a nonprofit organization in the State of New Mexico for the primary purpose of conserving the groundwater resources of the Ogallala Aquifer, which experiences only limited recharge, through the use of conservation easements, while transitioning irrigated farmland and ranchland to dryland cropping or grazing land,” as stated in a FAQ provided by the conservancy.

With this conservation effort Clovis will have a supplemental source of water, in addition to the Ute Pipeline, for the city of Clovis, Curry County and Cannon Air Force Base, experts have said.

The effort to construct a pipeline from Ute Reservoir in Quay County to the communities in the member group under the conservancy is one effort and the farmland water conservation agreement is another, Clayton said.

The aquifer is being mined at an unsustainable rate, officials have said.

The three water sources in combination, the surface water in the Ute Reservoir, the recharged groundwater in the aquifer and the treated wastewater from the city of Clovis, which is used to water golf courses, for example, saving drinking water, will together provide these communities with the water they need long term into the future, Clayton said.

“We’ve got to have that surface (water) from the Ute and it’s essential to have the recharged water from the Ogallala Aquifer,” she said.

“Knowing we’re securing this surface water from the Ute, the aquifer groundwater and the reused water — these three give me peace so I can sleep at night. We’re all working together to get this done,” Clayton said.

Curry County Commissioner Robert Thornton, who is on the conservancy board of directors, said, “The conservancy is looking to transition some irrigated farmland to dryland agriculture. The purpose is to stop the mining of the aquifer and conserve water for the county in the future.

“This conservation effort is for the community of Clovis as a whole,” Thornton said. The money to pay the farmers for the easements to take their water out of irrigation use will be paid for by two grants: The Readiness and Environmental Integration Program grant from the U.S. Department of Defense and a Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.

“The farmers have signed a letter of interest but the agreement is not yet completed,” he said.

Clint Harden is another member of the conservancy board. Harden said: “The wells along the Paleo Channel are down 20 feet lower than they were several years ago. The water reserves in the Ogallala Aquifer are being depleted. This affects the long-term mission of the Cannon Air Force Base and is detrimental to Curry County.”

“It is the belief of experts, if you stop pumping (the wells) for ‘x’ number of years, it will recharge,” he said.

Basically this agreement with the farmers is about recharging the Ogallala Aquifer, he said.

“It’s interesting to note that what we are doing (the agreement) has never been done before,” Harden said.

“This purpose reflects unchartered territory for land trusts, making the Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy currently one of a kind among land trusts,” as stated in the FAQ conservancy release.

By taking the farmland irrigation out of production for three years, about nine billion gallons of water will be conserved, Clayton said.

Thornton said this would conserve about 10 million gallons of water a day.

“We’re conserving this water for Clovis and Curry County,” Clayton said.

“The city (of Clovis) and the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority are confident that the surface water (in the Ute Reservoir) will be available if needed – they have confidence in that,” she said. The aquifer will be supplemental and “we’ve got reused water … the three together create a strong water portfolio for the security and future of Clovis and Curry County.”