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- Irrigation Winds Down on Rio Grande Project
News Release Archive
Irrigation Winds Down on Rio Grande Project
Media Contact:
Mary Carlson, (505)462-3576, mcarlson@usbr.gov
For Release: September 13, 2016
Elephant Butte, N.M. – The Bureau of Reclamation stopped releasing water from Elephant Butte Reservoir on September 8 as the irrigation season for the Rio Grande Project winds down for the year.
Elephant Butte Reservoir ended the season with slightly lower storage than this time last year. Its current elevation is 4300 feet with 127,186 acre-feet in storage. Last year, Elephant Butte Reservoir’s low point was on September 22 at 4306 feet with 167,290 acre-feet in storage.
Rio Grande Project water is used to irrigate lands in the Elephant Butte Irrigation District in southern New Mexico, the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 in west Texas and Mexico. Project water is also used for municipal and industrial purposes by the city of El Paso, Texas.
Mexico ended the irrigation season on September 9. The Elephant Butte Irrigation District and El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 are scheduled to irrigate until about September 12th and 22nd. The total release for this irrigation season on the Rio Grande Project was approximately 525,000 acre-feet. Remaining water for the districts will be released from Caballo Reservoir. Reclamation plans to release most of Caballo Reservoir’s water in the coming weeks to perform maintenance of the intake structure of the dam to remove debris and sediment.
The season will end with Rio Grande Project irrigators receiving 77 percent of a full allocation. Typical summer rains didn’t materialize in July, leading to lower reservoir levels than originally anticipated. However, recent rains allowed for an earlier than expected end to the irrigation season.
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