Rio Grande is Flowing Again! Farmers Rejoice.
| |
Rio Grande with the Juarez mountains in the background.
Photo: Brax - VPC
|
T
he ebb and flow of the Upper Valley and Mesilla Valley farmers starts with the mountain basin in the Southwestern Colorado Rocky Mountians. If it doesn't snow in this bowl during the winter months... no amount of rain... well, maybe a flood, will make up for the lack of snow.
Snow fall in 2007-2008 was superb. In fact snow fall in the whole northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado area was almost dangerous. The 2008-2009 snow fall was also above average.
The El Paso County Water Improvement District # 1 is allocating a full 4-Acre feet to farmers in the Upper Valley and the Elephant Butte Water District is providing a full allocation but that is much less than the four acre feet because the Southern New Mexico area doesn't have that amount of water rights to the Rio Grande water.
The Mesilla Valley and farmers in the Elephant Butte Irrigation District often have to use well water to supplement the water from the Rio and this year will not be an exception.
Prepared by UVB staff.
(Photos: Brax - Valley Publishing Company)
Send feedback to:
Editor,
UpperValleyBeacon.com
|