Water for the Rio Grande
A Good Winter Means Lot?s of Water!
A reader of Spotlight El Paso emailed me a few weeks ago wondering about water run-off this Spring from the snow pack in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. We always hope for good winter snows up north since, when spring arrives, the melting that takes place transfers this water to Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. The agreement between these states and Mexico allows for a certain amount of water that is released and shared. So, Elephant Butte gets a certain amount as does Caballo and all other entities involved. This is something that our farmers, ranchers, utility officials and those of you who love to spend time at Elephant Butte and Caballo lake reservoir look forward to.
The Rio Grande watershed in Southern Colorado has had its ups and downs so far with our winter storms. December was a great snow month but January was a disaster and February hasn?t been much better. The same can be said for Northern New Mexico. In fact, several Hydrologists tell me local farmers may not get the water they expect each spring and summer if we don?t have a good rebound for snowfall in March and April.
At this point, it appears that we are in a ?wait and see? time period. Right now it does not look good for water usage but that could all change in the coming months courtesy of Mother Nature.
You can always track the water supply forecasts on your own at: http://www.co.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/fcst/index.html.
