Drought persists in New Mexico, imperiling farmers and ranchers in the southeast

A devastating drought was expected to continue to imperil New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers and the state’s water supplies well into next year, and water managers sought ways to support water users as supplies grew increasingly scarce.

State officials and local water users discussed the problem and what can be done during a Tuesday meeting held online by the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center – a joint effort between New Mexico State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Royce Fontenot, senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service stationed in Albuquerque, said as much as 50 percent of New Mexico was listed by the U.S. Drought Monitor as under “exceptional” drought conditions – the monitor’s highest designation.

Exceptional drought conditions were reported in most of the southeast region, covering Eddy, Lea, Chaves and Roosevelt counties and parts of others, per the latest update on Nov. 25.

Hidalgo and most of Grant and Catron county to the west and southwest were also under the monitor’s most severe designation, along with Santa Fe, San Juan and Torrance counties in northern New Mexico.

Exceptional drought conditions can see increased fire damage, struggling crop yields and a severe lack of surface water for agriculture. The Rio Grande and other large rivers can run dry.

Fontenot said New Mexico saw two rainy seasons – or monsoons usually seen during the summer and early fall – which failed to provide adequate precipitation.

He said the problem wasn’t just in New Mexico but spread throughout western states placing an even greater risk to shared bodies of water such as rivers and headwaters.

“A good chunk of New Mexico is in exceptional drought. Really, we’re starting to see after two failed monsoon seasons and a really dry winter drought really starting to build up,” Fontenot said.

“It’s not just confined in New Mexico. It’s a regional issue. For parts of New Mexico that depend on headwaters in Colorado, this is not a good thing.”

A La Niña weather pattern, which is characterized by drier conditions in southern states and wetter conditions in northern states, was expected to continue at least until February, he said.

Record-low snow packs, which provide runoff for New Mexico’s rivers from mountainous areas when the snow melts, were reported in 2018 and continued to struggle since, Fontenot said.

“We need that monsoon precipitation even in the mountains to keep that soil moisture so you can really make use of that runoff. Most of the state is drier than it was six months ago,” he said.

“We’re losing soil moisture. That’s definitely not something you want to see going into the runoff season. If we don’t see normal or significantly above normal winter conditions, we’re going to have some serious water supply issues.

“We’re not expecting drought to improve significantly. We’re going to keep seeing what we’ve been seeing probably through February.”

Southeast New Mexico hit hard by drought

The lack of water supplies in New Mexico was particularly dire for southeast New Mexico and the Pecos Valley, as local farmers and ranchers struggled to have enough water to water crops and livestock.

Each year, the Carlsbad Irrigation District (CID) is required to receive 50,000 acre feet (AF) of water from a reservoir at Brantley Lake.

Per a 2003 settlement, if forecasts show that 50,000 AF requirement will not be met by March of each year, state water regulators must use augmentation pumps at Seven Rivers near Brantley or from a reservoir at Lake Arthurs, about 40 miles north in Chaves County.

A November forecast showed Brantley’s supply would be well below 50,000 AF for the CID, and the Interstate Stream Commission began pumping into the reservoir, hoping to make up the difference.

Aron Balok, superintendent of the Pecos Valley Artesian Conservatory District said there was about 20,000 AF in storage at Brantley as of Tuesday, and water managers hoped to gain about 12,000 AF by March, still putting supplies well below the requirement.

Pumping does not guarantee the CID will get its full allotment.

Balok said the drought would not risk New Mexico’s required deliveries of Pecos River water to Texas, as the state already had a credit of 166,300 AF with the neighboring state that shares the river.

“We’re not so much worried about getting water to Texas. We are in one of those circumstances where there is simply not enough water in storage to meet the needs of the CID,” he said. “It’s certainly dry. It’s going to be a pretty bad year this year.”

He warned that New Mexico could struggle to deliver water to Texas when the drought subsides, as higher water levels mean more is owed to Texas and more can be lost in transport to evaporation.

“We don’t have a problem with Texas when we’re in a drought,” Balok said. “It’s coming out of a drought that can be a problem.”

While evaporative losses at the Lake Arthur reservoir were as high as 20 percent when pumping began this fall, Interstate Stream Commission Deputy Director Hannah Riseley-White said they were recently reported at about 10 percent – a level she said was encouraging.

But to allow for the augmentation, New Mexico in the past bought up water rights from users such as farmers and ranchers which impacted the availability of water to the agriculture industry, Riseley-White said.

“Buying water rights and drying out agriculture areas is awful to see. That’s something that we’re looking at if we’d ever do that again,” she said. “These wells can’t replace the flow of the river. We’re hoping for the best and planning for the worst. There is certainly still work cut out for us.”

Anthony Chaves, program specialist with the USDA’s Farm Service Agency said numerous loan and relief programs were available to farmers and ranchers in New Mexico, triggered by disaster declarations made by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture or designations from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

He said those interested could contact the agency at farmers.gov.

Emergency loans through the program were recently codified by the recent Farm Bill and would not require a disaster declaration.

Other programs like the Livestock Foraging Program, Livestock Indemnity Program and Emergency Livestock Assistance Program could also become available to those in need as drought conditions worsen.

“It allows for those counties to be eligible for emergency loans,” Chaves said of the program. “Those loans are available to producers if they can’t get those funds from any other private or commercial programs.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.