Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Conchas Lake finally is rising, but not enough for the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board to vote to discharge water into its irrigation canals.
District manager Franklin McCasland said during the board’s Aug. 9 meeting the lake had gained about 900 acre-feet of net inflow in July and estimated another 5,000 acre-feet flowed into it during the first week of August. Conchas Lake’s level has risen more than two feet in the last month. He said most of the flow was coming from the Mora and Garita areas.
However, the lake’s elevation of 4,161.3 feet that week was well short of the 4,174 feet needed to discharge water.
As a result, the board is about to finish its second growing season without discharging water into its canals due to the prolonged drought.
McCasland said after the meeting it was possible for the district to discharge water as late as October if some local farmers wanted to grow winter wheat and the lake was high enough. He doubted that scenario, noting Conchas Lake would need to rise another 10 feet.
Board President Robert Lopez said even with a lot more water in the lake, he thought local farmers would want to hold back on discharges by the district until the spring 2023 growing season.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor through Aug. 11, drought conditions have eased through much of New Mexico because of monsoon rains. However, much of the eastern third of the state remains in extreme or exceptional drought conditions.
In other business:
• Longtime secretary-treasurer U.V. Henson said he would step down from his post by October due to health reasons. Henson has served on the board for 25 years.
“You’ve done very well,” Lopez said while thanking Henson. “I’m sure the farmers appreciated your time here.”
McCasland said the board would advertise for letters of interest from those who wish to fill Henson’s seat. He said the board then would appoint a new member to fill the term until the next election.
• In his manager’s report, McCasland said the district mailed assessments to unpaid Class A landowners in early July. By late July, 78% of the budgeted revenue has been paid — “a really good year for us so far,” he said.
• McCasland said the district’s work crews have been repairing gates, performing spot burns where weeds block a siphon or culvert, removing sediment from another siphon and repairing or clearing canal roads.