Elephant Butte Irrigation District Settles With Texas

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) – A 29-year-long dispute has ended with a water settlement between irrigation districts in Dona Ana County and El Paso, Texas.

The settlement divides water from Elephant Butte Reservoir near Truth or Consequences. The dispute centered around a contention by El Paso County Improvement District Number One that unregulated pumping of groundwater by Elephant Butte Irrigation District farmers in New Mexico was affecting river flows.

The Texas farmers say that cut into their share of Elephant Butte water. The two districts together make up the Rio Grande Project.

Under the settlement, they’ve also agreed to drop two federal court lawsuits filed in recent years.

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