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<br />23
<br />
<br />The primary purpose of Elephant
<br />Butte is irrigation supply, although
<br />the dam is operated for limited flood
<br />control purposes as well. The dam
<br />outlet discharges into the riverbed
<br />that runs through the town of Truth
<br />or Consequences, an area prone to
<br />flooding due to siltation that had
<br />reduced the local Rio Grande channel
<br />capacity to 2,500 cis, The 1948 Flood
<br />Control Act authorizes the Bureau of
<br />Reclamation to maintain this channel
<br />to a 5,000 cis capacity, and in 1986,
<br />restoration was completed to enlarge
<br />the channel capacity to this level.
<br />
<br />Elephant Butte Reservoir also serves
<br />important recreational functions.
<br />More than one million people annu-
<br />ally visit Elephant Butte Lake State
<br />Park (which is composed of the reser-
<br />voir and 2,500 adjacent acres) to fish,
<br />boat, camp, ski, swim, and picnic. In
<br />1974, Congress authorized the use of
<br />50,000 acre feet of San Juan-Chama
<br />water to be stored in the reservoir as a
<br />permanent recreational pool. Con-
<br />gress provided, however, that if Ele.
<br />phant Butte should fill and spill, the
<br />recreational pool would be the first
<br />water to go downstream. When it
<br />became apparent in 1985 that a spill
<br />would occur, the Rio Grande Com-
<br />pact Commission arranged to transfer
<br />the pool to Abiquiu Reservoir
<br />through a paper exchange. As Abi,
<br />quiu filled to its lawful capacity, the
<br />pool was moved to Cochiti Reservoir.
<br />However, problems of high reservoir
<br />levels and seepage at Cochiti during
<br />the summer of 1986 resulted in the
<br />spilling of the 50,000 af in August of
<br />that year,
<br />
<br />Hydroelectric generation has also
<br />become an important use of Elephant
<br />Butte waters. A 24.3 megawatt power
<br />facility was constructed and the flows
<br />of the Rio Grande began turning its
<br />turbines in 1940. An annual average
<br />63 million kilowatt hours of electricity
<br />has been generated over the past 45
<br />years at Elephant Butte, although
<br />more than twice this amount was
<br />produced in the high flow year of
<br />1985,
<br />
<br />THE RIO GRANDE PROJECT
<br />
<br />Elephant Butte Dam is actually a part
<br />
<br />of the Bureau of Reclamation's Rio
<br />Grande Project, which consists of
<br />two storage reservoirs (Elephant
<br />Butte and Caballo) and five diversion
<br />dams spanning the river channel at
<br />various downstream locations.
<br />Caballo Dam was designed and
<br />authorized in conjunction with the
<br />Elephant Butte hydroelectric
<br />facilities-water discharged from the
<br />Elephant Butte power plant during
<br />winter generation is impounded in
<br />Caballo Reservoir for irrigation use
<br />during the following summer. The
<br />dam, completed in 1938, was also
<br />designed for flood control purposes,
<br />with 100,000 af of its 330,000 af capac-
<br />ity dedicated to regulating spring and
<br />summer floods.
<br />
<br />The next Rio Grande Project struc-
<br />ture, Percha Diversion Dam, is 18.5
<br />feet high and lies two miles down-
<br />stream of Caballo Reservoir. The
<br />structure diverts Rio Grande flow
<br />into a canal that serves about 16,000
<br />irrigated acres in the Rincon Valley of
<br />New Mexico. The Leasburg and
<br />Mesilla diversion dams lie 62 and 40
<br />miles north of EI Paso respectively.
<br />They annually divert water for up to
<br />75,000 acres of productive agricultural
<br />land in the upper and lower Mesilla
<br />Valley, 12,000 acres of which are in
<br />Texas.
<br />
<br />The fourth diversion dam of the Rio
<br />Grande Project lies four miles north-
<br />west of downtown EI Paso, immedi-
<br />ately above the point where the river
<br />becomes the international boundary
<br />between Mexico and the United
<br />States, This 18,foot high structure
<br />diverts water primarily to irrigators in
<br />the EI Paso Valley of Texas, It is oper'
<br />ated and maintained by the Interna-
<br />tional Boundary and Water Commis-
<br />sion which regulates deliveries of
<br />water to meet treaty obligations. A
<br />few miles downstream of this Ameri-
<br />can diversion dam is the International
<br />Dam, from which Mexico diverts its
<br />full allotment into the Acequia
<br />Madre.
<br />
<br />The fifth and final diversion dam in
<br />the Rio Grande Project is at Riverside,
<br />15 miles southeast of downtown EI
<br />Paso. H.iverside Dam diverts the Rio
<br />Grande flow into a canal which can
<br />
<br />'g; "
<br />_,:~ion-s,uppUes) .ill.particular areas'- Thes~
<br />-indude,the Elep,~ant ButtE; IrrigatiQ~ Dis;~
<br />tri~t, lhe!y1iddle}~io Grande Conservancy
<br />,pi~tric_!,Jhe ~:aflLuis Valllo/ Water Con~
<br />:'servancy District, El\aso'CountyWater
<br />!: imBfovementDistrict No._I, and ':},umer-
<br />~ 'ous:others. Such districts are g<:nerally '.;I
<br />j, ~9nsidered semipublic agencies~ anq are
<br />:"_,tre,at~dpurs~,ant toa~egalframework
<br />t:':;;pelled out by:state statute;
<br />
<br />~"ryp'i~~'UY, a district i~,_for~eci~upon tJle-
<br />:am~,rna'tive vote ofpeople1esidingwithin
<br />:',,' ~h~,':pioposed district b~pndaries who
<br />de's~e a moreteliable water supply'o,r
<br />"';Who-need concerted efforts to' address
<br />-drairi~g~:~md other costly problem~,',::rhe
<br />ability tei raise revenul;." through the faxing"
<br />ofpr9perty within the district gi~~6 the
<br />.:ctistrid its prirfi'ary power.
<br />,>'}~".' ",' "','" '," '''''', >
<br />~atlY9Istr~cts'formed in the past dec~ci~"s
<br />, wer'e(created in ,order to c()ntract l-Vith the"
<br />:;.'Bureau.of ~edama~on for repa'ytrient of
<br />c;ert~in.costs of major wate_f projects.
<br />vv;thout/iuch 'a local district with the
<br />;"pow:~,!,tot~Xi\,n.d therebY~u.uantee, _' ~J
<br />:rep",yme~~,'of -a portioJ}"ofproje~ c~sts;
<br />;t,~~J~urea.,;,_,;,oul~,be unwilling to eXpend
<br />::,it,~efforts'ahd/unds tO~I:O~str!Jct th~ ~:~
<br />",w~ter~aciIities~',{~the~~l:i~~iti~ts, ho\,/ever, <0'
<br />-;~i~~ lndependE:!l'tiy orany rela~io~~h,ip ~
<br />: ,with-the}ederalgoyernnieritdh~,ti:S~'~
<br />.their'oFga_~iia~i~n_~~:mtrevenu~'tai~~ng
<br />;authori,ty, sirrll:ily.,tQ fo~us dn local water,
<br />;iSsu~~/~1fchissuesmayin_clud~ .
<br />,'rel:tabiIitating irrigation faci1iti~'s/Hnd~r~,.
<br />hiking :drainage,proj~sts, orenie,i{ng liti-
<br />;rgation':to p~~ect :~xisH~g wateI,righ~, ':> 151
<br />,. '-;lgainst,a perce,ve9th~,~at.
<br />i '-;' M' 1'lf ~'".'-' "i!i a:!
<br />tOMMUNITY~,kEQUIAS'1jl
<br />
<br />ANijprtCH~SSQcrA1'iqJ:Js:<
<br />: Not ailloqd'wat'er u~e ari~mariagerlleht
<br />",' "--"~"'",'.",: ,","'.-, _"~;>I!' ", "f$.
<br />organlz~t~()ns, are large no~ ha,,~ bee~
<br />,;"g;yen~He'power.~ole,vy a prop'~rtK:taxby
<br />:, the state. Il1lact,J~el1}Pst prevalent type
<br />,: ,pf,e:ntjty-that' c~lltrols"iYaterdisttibution
<br />'iDth~Rio Grande b~si~has_~unctibhed
<br />effec.tively for centudis.The'se;.~re the
<br />c~1h~1;1nity-.~cequias:'or ditch assoCi- ~\,
<br />atlOns. "-.
<br />
<br />.; .,rqseslimated that 1000 acequia,~(?:ist'iri
<br />'-New Mexico~ with scores in the,Colorado
<br />"',.;---,,'lL!" '. --"",--, ,;,," ' ,"
<br />~poItionof the Rio Grande basin' as; well.
<br />",',., ,,'.c, " ',' :,',_ .': ',: ,',.- '-,fl
<br />~Theirpperation is based upon centuries
<br />!. of-custom in which the users'of theace~
<br />, ':", ,-- "" - '.., ,,' ," -- ' ...-: ~'-
<br />.H~ia Jor, l?falditch system~ collectively
<br />,:,~e'e~p\:ert~inpracti~eSaI}d responsil?ili~
<br />ti~s:,in9!de~'f8 Ieceivetheir,:fairshare of
<br />' thew-aler. A~~ayordom? is ejected by the rf
<br />~itCh o~ners topr6petly'dis~ib,utet~e
<br />,w<t,ter.~upplyand to ensure t~~t all ace-
<br />quia users shoulder their shJre of main-
<br />----tett,a,nce:work,($ee Chapter IVf?r further
<br />bm:kground on--these instit'i.ttions',) ,',
<br />'," .!t
<br />: Althotl,ph acequI~s are,base_d,on tfa~itionr
<br />". th~{N~~,Nexicplegislatur{has statu'torily_'
<br />: recognized their authority and spelled
<br />out, c,ertain provisions regarding their fot~
<br />r~'" ~? ~ .~.
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