Water flows in canals; board won't allocate more

Water is flowing through the irrigation canals of the Arch Hurley Conservancy District, but board members were disinclined to allocate more water in them, despite recent rains.

District manager Franklin McCasland said water from Conchas Lake was released into the canal system on June 3. The rate was 200 cubic feet per second.

“Everything’s running pretty smooth,” he said. “We’ve had a few problems, but nothing major.”

The board in April allocated 2 inches of water per acre for area farmers and ranchers.

During last week’s meeting, board President Robert Lopez said he didn’t want to allocate more water.

“I think another allocation would mess up a lot of things,” he said.

Board member Larry Perkins said he notice farmers are planting less this year. McCasland concurred, saying he saw fewer producers wanting water this year.

McCasland said the lake’s level that morning was 4,172.6 feet, a half-foot lower than the previous week because of the water release.

During the month of May, Conchas Lake received 4,984 acre-feet of inflow. It recorded 3,039 acre-feet of evaporation and other losses during the month.

Most board members reported about a half-inch of rain from storms the previous weekend, with isolated areas receiving 1 1/2 inches or more.

However, they noted the moisture would evaporate quickly with hot weather arriving later in the week.

In other business, McCasland said Dan Austin CPA of Ruidoso conducted an audit exit conference for the district on May 31.

Once the audit is approved by the state auditor’s office, Austin will review it with the board at its next meeting.