Arch Hurley board reluctant to allocate more water

Several members of the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors expressed reluctance last week to allocate more water into its irrigation canals until spring.

The board in July allocated three inches of water per acre — the first time it had authorized a release of water from Conchas Lake in over three years — after huge storms caused the lake to rise more than 10 feet in just a few weeks.

Rainfall since that time, however, mostly has been meager. District manager Franklin McCasland reported during the board’s Sept. 12 meeting that Conchas Lake’s water elevation that morning was 4,174.1 feet — barely above the level where the district considers allocating water. The level dropped 2.2 feet in the last month, he said.

McCasland reported the lake received 1,192 acre-feet of inflow during the month of August, with evaporation and other losses at 4,681 acre-feet.

Diversion of water to the district’s canals totaled 7,283 acre-feet during the month.

McCasland also stated in his report that irrigation water was taking 48 hours to arrive at the County Line Check, when it usually takes 24 hours. He said the area around Bascom Cut contains a large amount of woody vegetation and silt in the canal. McCasland said the district’s maintenance crew will address the problem when the canal dries during the winter.

“We’re lucky there hasn’t been a lot of demand” for water, McCasland said. “We’ve been able to make deliveries.”

He said he would monitor the canals and lake and is prepared to close the feed from there at any day.

Board President Robert Lopez noted the board didn’t have allocation of water on its agenda.

“I don’t think we should run any more water,” he said. “No need to prolong this slow bleed of inefficiency.”

Board member Debra Mitchell noted several farmers anticipated the irrigation water would be shut off soon and have planted winter wheat early.

“I think we should wait” on more allocations, she said. “People should budget what we give them.”

Not everyone wanted the district to shut off the canals. During public comments, Phillip Box said the board should rethink its decision not to allocate more water this year. He said he would use it to fortify his land’s grasses.

“If it’s there, we should make it available,” Box said. “I’d rather have that water in the soil than sitting in the lake.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor as of Sept. 14 shows all of New Mexico in some form of drought. Extreme drought conditions especially are found in the southeast part of the state.

In other business, McCasland said the district received a check for about $101,000 from its insurer to cover damage to its buildings from the May 25 hailstorm. He said would soon get quotes from roofing contractors.