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<br />,mation and operatio,n, Arso, less, tradi-
<br />tional pitch ass()(:,iations have beell
<br />formed in n~cent>years,as corpor,rtions
<br />: and other collective ofganiz,atio~s. Trle
<br />! '. p'~rpose of:such ditch associations are, 1Jj
<br />i.however, s~miJar,t2Jr,~ditional acequias,
<br />,: inthat they arc ,designed to set up 'a fair
<br />system for distrib1Jting water, and :all()Cat~
<br />~,jng responsibilitiestp irrigators'whoshare
<br />f the Sante ditch system.
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<br />MUNICIPALITIES
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<br />AS,refle,cte? in the,Preceding de~cription
<br />of the Bure.au of Reclamation and other
<br />. ," ,', . -,!,.,
<br />water entities.: early watermanagemE:n't
<br />~fforts in the Rio Grande basin were ,,",
<br />drive,n by the needs of agriculture,. In
<br />;rec~n_t decades, another major sector irt
<br />water resource m~V"lagement has arisen
<br />withJhe expansi~ri ofmunidpalwater
<br />~use.;'Xlbuquerqu~, El Paso, and other
<br />pupulationCE!nters have becom~"major
<br />players in the wat~r m~nagement arena
<br />and'are currently'the focus oLsignificant
<br />efforts ~nqcontr_()versiesinvolving limited
<br />, water Sbppl~~~.' iff.
<br />-'the 'city o{')\lbuqurfql1e, for exa!Ilpl~,
<br />. I '1 ,. o. h
<br />; 't10t ony contro S extel1S1Ve water',ng ts ,tt
<br />; from both local.and imported sources but fl.
<br />:1 it ~lso n'9uires uPst:J:.~_;lnnt()ragl:' space in
<br />JnortheM New M~id)' reservoirs for some'
<br />~ 9fitssupp,lies. Its'alldcatiori of San Juan~' >
<br />'; ,', 61
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<br />. Albl1querque; EI Paso,
<br />and other population
<br />, : ':;( "',- ,~
<br />, centers have become
<br />~
<br />major players in the
<br />watrr management
<br />arena and are
<br />.J,' '
<br />cur.rently the focus
<br />of controverSies
<br />invol~giimited Water
<br />supplies.
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<br />irrigate 40,000 acres in the El Paso Val-
<br />ley. The waters of the Rio Grande
<br />rarely flow beyond this point, except
<br />from irrigation returns flows, and
<br />from downstream tributaries.
<br />Recently, flows in excess of irrigation
<br />needs have been released because of
<br />storage accumulated during four
<br />'''-vet'' years.
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<br />IRRIGATION OPERATIONS
<br />
<br />The Bureau of Reclamation contracts
<br />with two major districts for irrigation
<br />supplies provided by Elephant Butte
<br />Reservoir and by the other compo-
<br />nents of the Rio Grande Project. The
<br />Elephant Butte Irrigation District
<br />(EBID) contracts for the deliveries in
<br />New Mexico, while the El Paso
<br />County Water Improvement District
<br />No. 1 (EPCWID) is the primary con.
<br />tractor in Texas. In addition, the Hud-
<br />speth County Conservation and
<br />Reclamation District (HCCRD) south
<br />of El Paso has entered into agree-
<br />ments with the Bureau to purchase
<br />surplus Project water and return
<br />flows generated by Project irrigation.
<br />
<br />1. ELEPHANT BUITE IRRIGATrON DIS-
<br />TR'CT: EBID was created foIlowing the
<br />completion of Elephant Butte Dam,
<br />and the District soon entered con-
<br />tracts for the delivery of water to its
<br />irrigators. EBID has 91,000 acres of
<br />farmland entitled to receive Rio
<br />Grande Project waters that are
<br />diverted at the Percha, Leasburg, and
<br />Mesilla diversion dams. The District
<br />paid off its construction debts to the
<br />Bureau in 1971, although it stiIl pays
<br />the Bureau $200,000 to $300,000 annu,
<br />ally for operation, maintenance, and
<br />other charges. Funds for these pay-
<br />ments, as well as for EBID operating
<br />costs, are raised through a $25 per
<br />acre assessment on District farmland
<br />that is eligible to receive Project
<br />waters.
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<br />In 1985, 79,000 of the authorized
<br />91,000 acres were irrigated by Project
<br />water on 1,302 fuIltime and 1,071
<br />part-time farms. Vegetables were the
<br />highest income crop, with a total
<br />value of $54 million from 20,000 acres,
<br />Pecans generated gross revenues of
<br />$29 million on 13,000 acres, while
<br />29,000 acres of alfalfa and silage had a
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<br />crop value of $15 million. Cotton,
<br />wheat, barley, and sorghum gener'
<br />ated the remaining $11 million of
<br />agricultural revenue in the District.
<br />According to the Bureau of Reclama-
<br />tion, average crop value per irrigated
<br />acre in the EBID was $1,265 in 1985,
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<br />2. EL PASO COUNTY WATER IMPROVE-
<br />MENT DISTRICT: In December 1922,
<br />EPCWID entered a contract for deliv-
<br />ery of water from the Rio Grande Pro-
<br />ject to 69,000 acres of farmland in the
<br />EI Paso VaIley of Texas. In 1985, the
<br />EPCWID had 705 full time and 1202
<br />part-time farms generating a total
<br />crop value of $43 million in that year.
<br />Cotton accounted for a majority of
<br />crop value, averaging $683 per acre
<br />for all irrigated District farmland in
<br />1985,
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<br />EPCWID also delivers Project water
<br />to supply a portion of El Paso's muni-
<br />cipal needs. This arrang~ment
<br />resulted from the city's purchase and
<br />lease of local farmland within the dis-
<br />trict boundaries, In 1985, diversions
<br />from EPCWID canals into the El Paso
<br />water treatment plant totalled nearly
<br />20,000 af.
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<br />3. HUDSPETH COUNTY CONSERVATION
<br />AND RECLAMATION DISTRICT: Drainage
<br />water from the Project lands within
<br />the EPCWID provide a supplemental
<br />irrigation supply for up to 18,300
<br />acres in Hudspeth County below El
<br />Paso, In 1951, the Hudspeth County
<br />Conservation and Reclamation Dis-
<br />trict contracted with the Bureau for
<br />the use of this return flow, as well as
<br />available surplus Project waters. In
<br />1985, HCCRD received more than
<br />90,000 af of drainage water under this
<br />contract, primarily for irrigating
<br />cotton,
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<br />Drainage water in this area is of poor
<br />quality and, without sufficient dilu.
<br />tion from other water sources, can
<br />create mineral buildup in the soil.
<br />According to Bureau studies, this
<br />phenomenon has caused the HCCRD
<br />area to be severely diminished as an
<br />agriculturally productive region. In
<br />1985, the average crop value was
<br />reported at $611 per acre,
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