Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
With water orders staying strong, the manager of the Arch Hurley Conservancy District stated he anticipated its canals would remain open until their usual seasonal closing of Oct. 31.
District manager Franklin McCasland stated in his report to the board of directors at its Oct. 8 meeting that water orders were remaining above 30 cubic feet per second — the criteria it set during its September meeting before closing its canals to Conchas Lake.
McCasland stated he anticipated orders would remain above 30 cfs if the weather remained warm.
“There is a large amount of prepaid water purchased or still available to be purchased to irrigate fall crops,” he stated in his report.
McCasland wasn’t present at the meeting. Instead, office manager Theresa Lafferty presented his report to the board.
With the end of the growing season imminent, several board members said they thought it was a good year for the district. The board allocated a total of 4 inches of water per acre during three allocations.
“I think we did a good job with what we had,” board member Debra Mitchell said.
Board member Larry Perkins expressed optimism if water levels at Conchas Lake remain healthy during the winter, perhaps the district could allocate 4 inches of water outright during the early spring.
The lake’s elevation stood at 4,171.38 feet the morning of the meeting, down about two-thirds of a foot from the previous month.
During September, Conchas Lake received 7,106 acre-feet of inflow with 2,706 acre-feet of evaporation and other losses. Diversion into the canals totaled 8,231 acre-feet during the month.
In other business:
— Lafferty introduced Hallie Ferguson as the district’s new office manager. Ferguson previously was the City of Tucumcari’s finance director.
Lafferty is leaving to become a deputy treasurer of Quay County. Lafferty also is an unopposed candidate for county treasurer in the November election.
On a related note, the board approved a corporation authorization resolution that reflects Lafferty’s departure and Ferguson’s hiring.
— McCasland stated in his report the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was planning to inspect the district’s five irrigation tunnels in December.
Board members doubted that would happen because of large amounts of water still in the canals. The bureau has wanted to inspect the tunnels for past two years.
— District workers last month installed a new battery in the district’s one-ton spray truck. The next morning, the truck caught fire near the shop area.
McCasland reported the vehicle held only liability insurance coverage. The district will remove the flatbed, spray tanks and pump so they could be used on another vehicle.
— The board approved the third-quarter financial report to be submitted to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.