Water Scarcity: Elephant Butte Water Reservoir | Sierra County

On October 15, 2020, the Elephant Butte Irrigation District noted at its board of directors meeting that there may be no water allotments to the farmers between Elephant Butte Reservoir and Las Cruces next year. It was a poor year for inflow into Elephant Butte Reservoir, and, with a La Niña cycle coming, 2021 may be even worse.  

An announcement like this sets off a chain of responses that will affect people in Doña Ana and Sierra counties and beyond. Economically, farmers will have to pay more for water pumped from the ground. Environmentally, well drawdown will further separate the groundwater system from surface flows and will decimate the little remaining riparian habitat along the riverbanks of the Rio Grande. Culturally, people will lose work and income, further depressing this area and causing population loss and other issues. 

The Lower Rio Grande Valley is a microcosm of the nexus between climate change, political economy, and cultural influences. This feature breaks down the issues and contexts surrounding the Elephant Butte Reservoir and the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Click on the individual articles below for discussions of different parts of the infrastructural puzzle.

Taken in pieces or as whole, this feature reflects how conditions along the Rio Grande are in flux. There is no one simple answer to the many issues the river faces. – Kathleen Kambic

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Ane González Lara for her support and coordination of this effort.

“Water Scarcity: Elephant Butte Reservoir” was written solely by Kathleen Kambic, assistant professor at the University of New Mexico. All images are her work alone, unless noted otherwise in the text.

The original peoples of New Mexico since time immemorial—Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache— have deep connections to the land and have made significant contributions to the broader community statewide. I honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations, and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. I gratefully recognize our history and the present-day work to preserve and wisely use the Rio.