Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors is considering its biggest water allocation in its canals in six years.
The board didn’t make an official allocation during its Jan. 14 meeting, but members and the district’s manager said they were comfortable allocating 10 to 14 inches of water per acre when growing season begins in the spring.
District manager Franklin McCasland said if its canals operated at 40% efficiency, it could allocate nearly 11 inches of water per acre, based on current Conchas Lake levels.
If the canals operated at 50% efficiency, the district could allocate nearly 16 inches.
McCasland said if water was diverted into the canals in March, efficiency would be about 40%. If it waited until April, efficiency likely would be closer to 50% because probable spring rains would keep canal water from soaking as much into the ground.
“For our constituents, we can look at 11- to 14-inch allocation,” he said.
Board member Larry Perkins said he didn’t believe the board needed to allocate water in January — a sentiment echoed by board Chairman Robert Lopez.
Perkins then moved to not allocate water at this time, but he said the board likely would “look again” at making an official allocation during its February meeting. Perkins said the board would consider a 10- to 14-inch allocation.
McCasland stated in an email after the meeting the last time the district made a 10-inch allocation was in February 2019.
Later, during a break in the meeting, Perkins said the last time the district made a full allocation of 18 inches per acre was in 2001.
Since then, the region and state have suffered through persistent drought.
During his manager’s report, McCasland reported Conchas Lake’s water elevation that morning stood at 4,184.05 feet — about 12 feet higher than a year ago. The lake’s levels have risen about 13 feet since mid-October.
McCasland said in December, the lake received 6,277 acre-feet of inflow, with just 985 acre-feet of evaporation and other losses.
He said six snow gauges in the Canadian River Basin showed snowpack was less than 40% of the 30-year average.
However, McCasland said snowpack was low partly because of lot of it had melted, running into the river and the lake.
“That’s why we have very little loss in evaporation,” he said. “It’s still creeping up, which is unusual this time of year.”
In preparation for growing season, McCasland said the maintenance department is working on repairs throughout the district, including an inlet at Conchas Lake.
According to Jan. 16 data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the northern half of New Mexico remains drought-free.
In other business:
— McCasland stated in his manager’s report that Scott Northam CPA earlier this month completed an on-site audit of the Arch Hurley office and an exit conference with him, board member Debra Mitchell and office manager Hallie Ferguson.
“Northam informed us that there will be no new findings in the 2024 audit,” McCasland wrote.
— McCasland said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation again would not inspect the district’s tunnels because the agency cannot find or fund a rescue team. The BOR has planned a tunnel inspection for four years, only to delay it repeatedly.
— The board approved the $20,000 purchase of a 2007 water truck from federal surplus. McCasland said the truck has just 3,700 miles and a stainless steel tank.