Elephant Butte Reservoir
January 10, 2010--Forecasts expect runoff to be low in New Mexico rivers (Durango Herald)
Spring runoff is expected to be below average in New Mexico's two major river systems this spring, according to National Weather Service forecasts. The Rio Grande is expected to see only 91 percent of average runoff into Elephant Butte Reservoir north of Truth or Consequences, according to Ed Polasko of the NWS.
January 20, 2009--Snowpack above average in Rio Grande Basin (Alamosa Valley Courier)
The Rio Grande Basin has a healthy snowpack, Division of Water Resources’ Craig Cotten told members of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District board on Tuesda
August 17, 2008--Aquifers: San Luis Valley's largest reservoirs (Pueblo Chieftain)
The largest San Luis Valley reservoirs are not above ground, but are the aquifers underlying the valley floor. The confined aquifer (artesian) is by far the largest and, unlike the unconfined that was filled to capacity in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, has not been full since about the early '50s.Â
January 9, 2008--State meets RG Compact obligation (Alamosa News)
Colorado has liquid gold in the bank when it comes to Rio Grande Compact accounting. Colorado Division of Water Resources Division Engineer for Division III Michael Sullivan told the Rio Grande Roundtable this week that preliminary data puts Colorado about 7,700 acre feet to the good with the Rio Grande Compact.
May 2, 2007--Central New Mexico farmers face water storage limits (Farmingto Daily Times)
Farmers in central New Mexico could face restrictions on how much water they can store in reservoirs upstream for irrigation late in the growing season. Under the Rio Grande Compact, irrigation water cannot be stored in northern New Mexico's El Vado Reservoir on the Chama River during unusually dry spells.
March 9, 2007--Forecast for river flows is reduced (Albuquerque Journal)
The state's largest river, the Rio Grande, is expected to deliver only 440,000 acre-feet of water into Elephant Butte Reservoir, the state's largest water storage reservoir. That is just 77 percent of normal...Forecasters predict there is a good chance that a La Nina--El Nino's drought-bringing opposite--could descend by May or June.
February 14, 2007--Good news, average news (Albuquerque Journal)
...On the Rio Grande, New Mexico's largest river, the snowpack forecast is just average--not nearly enough to overcome a deficit at Elephant Butte Reservoir left by years of subpar precipitation and heavy water use...The current forecast comes two-thirds of the way through the winter snowpack season, meaning much could still change before the snow melts.
February 12, 2007--Receding El Nino Leaving West Dry (Albuquerque Journal)
El Nino is dwindling, diminishing the odds for a spring wet enough to refill the West's parched reservoirs...That means just average flows in the Rio Grande. That is not good news for Elephant Butte reservoir, which started February with just less than half the water it normally has this time of year.
January 14, 2007--New Mexico Runoff Looks Better for This Year (Farmington Daily Times)
Rain last summer and snow this winter have improved the odds for a better water year along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico. Elephant Butte Irrigation District water engineer Phil King said farmers will likely get 9 acre-inches of water to start the season--about two-thirds of the 14 acre-inches they received during the entire season last year.
