Water District Poised to Cut Allotment for Dell Valley Farmers
As levels in the aquifer that underlies Dell Valley have continued to fall, the Valley’s farmers are being told to prepare for a cut in water allotments for the coming two years.
The board of Hudspeth County Underground Water Conservation District #1 plans to set the allotment for 2015 and 2016 at its February meeting. The current allotment is 4 acre-feet per acre of permitted land. Under the district’s rules, the board will likely be compelled to cut the allotment to 3 acre-feet per acre.
The district’s rules say that the board must cut the allocation when the average monthly elevation of the aquifer for the two preceding years falls below 3,560 feet. At a meeting Tuesday (Jan. 13), Al Blair, the district’s hydrologist, told board members that, for 2013 and 2014, the average water level had fallen just below the threshold – at 3,559.2 feet.
Though Blair said the figure was only a preliminary calculation, and that it was possible “it might be off by a couple of 10ths,” he said that “it looks very likely [the board] will have to mandate a reduction to 3 feet – or change the rules.”
The water district issued a press release Tuesday night explained the planned cut in water allocations.
“The Hudspeth County Underground Water Conservation District’s Board of Directors plans at their next regular Board Meeting in February to taken action as specified in Section 3.5 (c) (3) of the District rules to reduce the Water Allocation from 4.0 acre-feet per acre to 3.0 acre-feet per acre for all validation permits for groundwater production,” the release said. “The Average Water Elevation for the aquifer, as defined in the District’s rules, for the years 2013 and 2014 has fallen below the critical elevation of 3560 feet above mean sea level. Groundwater levels have declined for several years in part because of increases in the amount of agricultural land under irrigation in the Dell Valley area and inadequate recharge to the aquifer as result of the ongoing drought. The purpose in reducing the Water Allocation and the associated reduction in groundwater pumping is to slow or reverse the rate at which groundwater levels are declining and help sustain the aquifer for future use.”
Irrigation in the Valley has increased significantly in the last several years, as HDR Farms and Par 5, operated by New Mexico dairies, have reintroduced long-fallow acreage into cultivation. In 2014, about 22,000 acres were cultivated in Dell Valley, up about 1,000 acres from the previous year.
Water levels typically reach their lowest level in September – and recover through the fall and winter until irrigation begins again in the spring. Despite brief spikes in water levels associated with flooding, the aquifer has remained on a downward trajectory of between 1.5 and 2 feet per year since 2009.
The board seemed resigned to taking the step. Board members said that sticking to the existing rules was important to confirm the district’s legitimacy.
“We have to do something,” board member Robert Carpenter said. “If I’m a rancher and my well goes dry, and the district hasn’t done anything, where am I?
“If the district doesn’t act, we leave ourselves open to lawsuits,” he said. “The most important thing we can do is to abide by the rules we’ve set. Down the road the water is going to be more valuable, and there’s going to be more fighting.”
Cutting the allotment will not necessarily reduce the amount of water pumped in Dell Valley. There are water rights in the Valley that are not being exercised, and working farmers could purchase or lease those rights to continue their current levels of operation. But it remains unclear how many water rights are outstanding.
The water district meters irrigation wells and monitors pumping in the Valley. If the allotment is cut, the district could issue citations and fines for farmers who exceeded the allocation.
During the most active period of irrigated farming in Dell Valley – in the 50s and 60s – the aquifer level was often significantly lower than it is now. The aquifer recovered as farming fell off in the 80s and 90s. Water district directors have voted to pursue a policy of sustainability – to try to preserve water levels more or less unchanged into the future – and the district selected the 3,560-foot threshold as a tool to pursue that policy. The city of El Paso plans, in the coming decades, to acquire water rights in Dell Valley and transport the area’s groundwater to meet municipal drinking water needs there.
The board also approved the 2015 budget at Tuesday’s meeting. Though the district will not set its tax rate until September, board members agreed to leave projected revenues unchanged – at about $186,000. Board members agreed that cutting the allotment could generate new expenses for the district – perhaps from lawsuits or in enforcement.