Monday, April 11, 2011
NM ranchers: Venture threatens to leave area dry
Ray Pittman pulled his 1994 F-150 pickup to the top of a thinly wooded hill, a short walk from the water tank he built back in 1999 on his 1,300-acre ranch. A mile down the hill, Pittman's 540-foot-deep well pumps groundwater, pushing it up to the tank to provide for cattle on this remote patch of central New Mexico landscape. To the west, on the vast plain that makes up the Augustin Plains Ranch, a commercial venture has proposed sinking 37 wells to pump groundwater and pipe it to the Rio Grande Valley to supplement dwindling water supplies of central New Mexico's farms and cities. The Augustin Plains Ranch proposal would move 54,000 acre-feet per year of water to the Rio Grande Basin 50 miles away — enough water to meet the needs of a city the size of Albuquerque. In their application to the state, project backers were not specific about how the water would be used. The group declined repeated requests to provide further information...more
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
If this happens it is another example of our State Engineer being willing to mine an aquifer for the benefit of industry. It is time for our new governor to put someone else who is more sensitive to the limited water in this state.
Try this math on for size. If the figures in the article are correct then each well would have to pump 21,715 gallons/minute/day to meet the 54,000 ac. ft. demand or permit to pump.
If my math is wrong then you do the math and post a correction.
Post a Comment