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. The regulation ensures enough water flows downstream to Texas as required by the compact between New Mexico, Texas and Colorado...Flows in the Rio Grande are 75 percent of average...Based on low flows into the Elephant Butte Reservoir and the amount of water being released daily for irrigation, calculations suggest water compact storage could reach the cutoff level, triggering restrictions on storage upstream.

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