Well water woes reflect NM dought conditions

One of Leonard and Evelyn Wallin’s ranches east of San Jon recently ran out of well water. “Well it’s been real weak for the last two or three years but it finally just quit. We had some well drillers come in and they drilled five holes but we never did find any water so we had to just pull out and leave it,” she said. “I think we’re going to quit because it’s so expensive. We thought maybe we’d wait until next year and try again.” The ranchers now have to haul water from another well to keep their thirsty cattle going. Evelyn said they haul water two or three times every week, which is a gasoline expense they would rather not deal with, but the cost and uncertainty of drilling more wells in hopes of finding water is not an attractive option, either. She said she is not the only one with this problem. “Everybody’s had trouble out here with shot wells. We’ve all known for years that they’re not as strong as they used to be.” According to Tim Farmer, district supervisor with the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, drilling wells can be a risky venture, especially in times of drought. Farmer said this year marks a decided return to a drought cycle the region has been experiencing since the district office opened in October 2008. He said last year’s moisture patterns had raised his hopes that maybe the drought was slowly subsiding, but he has dashed that hope now, and when rain doesn’t fall, wells have a hard time replenishing...more