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- Reclamation Announces Public Meetings On Its 2005 Annual Operating Plan For The Rio Grande Project, Including Elephant Butte And Caballo Reservoirs
News Release Archive
Reclamation Announces Public Meetings On Its 2005 Annual Operating Plan For The Rio Grande Project, Including Elephant Butte And Caballo Reservoirs
Media Contact:
Filiberto Cortez, 915-534-6301, fcortez@uc.usbr.gov
Galan Hanson, 505-894-6661, ghanson@uc.usbr.gov
For Release: April 25, 2005
The Bureau of Reclamation today announced it will hold public meetings in three cities during the month of May 2005. Reclamation will present the latest information concerning the water supply of the Rio Grande Project, the operational plan for Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs, and the schedule of irrigation releases from the reservoirs. The public is invited to attend the following meetings:
- Wednesday, May 4, 2005
5:30 PM City Hall Council Chambers, 200 N. Church St., Las Cruces, NM - Wednesday, May 11, 2005 6:00 PM International Boundary & Water Commission Office, 1st Floor Conf. Rm., The Commons, Bldg. C, 4171 N. Mesa St., El Paso, TX
- Wednesday, May 18, 2005 6:00 PM Civic Center Auditorium, 425 W. Fourth Ave., Truth or Consequences, NM
Prospects are very good for an above normal spring runoff into Elephant Butte Reservoir in 2005. The April 1st runoff forecast for San Marcial (just upstream of Elephant Butte Reservoir) is 930,000 acre-feet or 162 percent of the average March-July flow. We have not had a runoff of that magnitude since 1995. In 2004, the spring runoff at San Marcial was 240,000 acre-feet or 42 percent of the average flow.
Currently, the Rio Grande Project water users (Elephant Butte Irrigation District, El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1, and Mexico) have been allotted 31.2 percent of a full irrigation water supply based on current storage levels in Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs. Due to the large, forecasted spring runoff volume this year, Reclamation anticipates that a full supply for irrigation may possibly be allotted by this summer. The last two years (2004 and 2003), the Rio Grande Project water users were allocated only 38 percent and 34 percent of a full supply respectively. Reclamation revises the allocation on a monthly basis as snow pack runoff reaches the reservoirs.
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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.
