Water begins filling up the Rio Grande across the Borderland

ELEPHANT BUTTE, New Mexico — Millions of gallons of water were released from the Caballo Lake Reservoir on Monday. Soon, farmers across the Borderland will begin receiving water for irrigation.

The Elephant Butte Irrigation District started releasing the water at 6 a.m. at 600 cubic feet per second. By 8:30 a.m., the water was gushing out at 2,200 cubic feet per second, according to EBID manager Gary Esslinger.

As the water makes its way down the Rio Grande, farmers will be allowed 4 inches of water for irrigation across southern New Mexico, El Paso and parts of Mexico.

The release of water will cause the water levels at Elephant Butte and Caballo to regress.

"That is a concern for everyone,” said Esslinger. “It could be as low as 10,000 acre feet, which is an alarming amount, probably one of the lowest in history the lake will reach.”

But Esslinger says there is hope with monsoon season being right around the corner.